The Boys Went Down to Georgia
by Razorbackgal0225
Summary: Sam and Dean head to a small Southern town to investigate a series of attacks on children that might involve a ghost child. But things aren't always as they seem...Please read and review! Completed!
1. Chapter 1

Disclaimer: Unfortunately, I own nothing that you recognize. Fortunately, the things you don't recognize come from a vivid imagination and a passion for all things Winchester.

Author's Note: My first time posting a story, so please...do me the honor of reading. Thanks!!

Lilly Prescott was facing a huge dilemma. She stared at the display in front of her, chewing on her bottom lip, trying to make a decision. In her hand was the $20 bill her aunt had given her to spend on whatever she wanted. She had initially narrowed it down to two choices, either the new Barbie Vanity Playset, which came with six pair of shoes and two tiaras, or the Hannah Montana CD she had been wanting for a month. Hannah had been firmly in the lead, until she walked down the doll aisle and saw the 'Sale' sign in front of the Cabbage Patch Dolls. There was a particular brown-haired, brown-eyed doll that had caught her eye and she was seriously considering getting instead. After another few minutes of deliberation, she decided she needed advice.

Kaitlin Matthews noticed the extremely thoughtful look on her niece's face as she rounded the end of the first aisle of the toy store. Lilly normally took quite a while to decide what to buy with her money, but this wait had been longer than most. She had disappeared down the aisle with the dolls a few minutes ago and Katie hadn't heard a peep from her. This had given her an excellent chance to talk to Miss Bonnie, who had been running the cash register at Granger's Toy Shoppe since she was little. Seeing the expression on Lilly's face meant that she was about to be asked her opinion on something dreadfully important, such as which color of dress would look best on Barbie.

Sure enough, Lilly approached the counter. "Hi Miss Bonnie," she greeted the older lady, before turning to her aunt. "I need help."

"Having a hard time deciding?" Katie asked her, after exchanging amused smiles with Miss Bonnie.

Lilly nodded in response. "I thought I wanted the Hannah CD, but they have Cabbage Patch Kids are on sale," she explained. "And they have a girl with brown eyes."

"The Cabbage Patch's will only be on sale for a couple more days," Miss Bonnie added, "if that helps any."

Lilly frowned a little at this information. She had been hoping to sing along with Hannah and her Aunt Katie while she did her homework when they got home. She looked up Katie and saw she had her 'idea look.' It was the same look her mom had when she thought of something really fun for them to do together or when she came up with a good joke to play on Daddy. Lilly hoped she had an 'idea look,' one day too.

"If I remember correctly," Katie began, "someone has a birthday coming up in a month. Maybe she has a really cool aunt that would promise to get her the Hannah CD for her birthday and she can get the Cabbage Patch today. Would that work?"

Lilly beamed. Aunt Katie was so smart! She could wait another month for the CD and sing along with the TV show until then. "Thanks Aunt Katie!" she squealed as she raced back to the dolls, leaving Miss Bonnie and Kate alone again.

"She reminds me so much of you when you were that age," Miss Bonnie told Katie, her tone warm. "Amanda and Alex have done such a good job raising her."

Kate turned to face the older woman again, knowing Lilly wouldn't be but a minute. "She's a good kid," she agreed. "Now, tell me more about Tina Lloyd's broken arm. You said it happened in the Wal-Mart parking lot?" Without any further prodding, Miss Bonnie launched back into the latest gossip.

"Yes, Tina was putting her mom's cart back into the coral thing and another cart came out of nowhere and smashed her little arm," she elaborated. "The paramedic that responded said Tina was in shock and wouldn't talk after they patched up her arm. And," Miss Bonnie paused for a moment, "when she finally did say something the next day, she said she saw that little boy again."

"I can't believe that story is still going around," Katie said. "Ever since Miss Sadie put that story in the paper about her grandson's accident, every kid that's been hurt or does something they know is going to get them in trouble, they say the same thing. They see a strange little kid and he's the one that caused it."

In the next aisle over, Lilly studied the face of the doll in her arms, wanting to be completely sure that this was the doll for her. As she tried to read the name on the birth certificate taped to the side of the box, she noticed a movement out of the corner of her eye. She turned and saw a boy, a little older than her, standing to her left at the end of the aisle. She started to say hi to him, when she noticed something odd about the boy. She couldn't put her finger on it, but he looked out of place. His clothes were a lot different than any her friends at school wore. And now that she thought about it, she didn't recognize him, and she knew every kid under the age of 15 that lived in Commerce. Maybe he was new in town. Lilly decided to introduce herself.

She had taken a step toward the boy when he blinked. Lilly stopped dead in her tracks. This wasn't the usual eye-blink; his entire body disappeared for a second and then reappeared, like one of her videotapes that she had watched too many times. Lilly knew that wasn't anywhere near normal and she knew she wasn't seeing things. Especially when she noticed she could see completely through him. She opened her mouth to yell for Aunt Kate but froze when she heard something behind her. She looked up just in time to see the top row of Barbie boxes start to fall. This time she did scream a little, as she covered her head in preparation for the boxes hitting her.

Katie heard Lilly scream at the same time she heard the boxes fall. Miss Bonnie quickly followed as Katie raced to the doll aisle. "Lilly!" Katie shouted. "Lilly, are you alright?" She rounded the corner and saw Lilly crouched on the floor, with her arms over her head. Barbie packages lay all around her; the top two shelves now completely bare. "Lilly, sweetie, answer me, are you okay?" Katie stepped over several boxes to get to her niece, with Miss Bonnie right behind her.

Katie knelt beside Lilly and gently touched her arm.

Lilly finally lifted her head and Katie's heart leapt into her throat at the side of her tear-filled eyes. Her lip trembled slightly and she sniffled a little as she said, "Aunt Katie, all those boxes fell on me." She moved quickly into Katie's embrace, wrapping her arms around Katie's neck. Katie returned the hug, stroking the little girl's back soothingly.

"Lill, are you alright? Are you hurting anywhere?" Katie felt Lilly shake her head against her shoulder. "Are you sure sweetheart, cause we can go to the doctor if we need to."

Lilly sniffled again and said quietly, "No, I'm okay. That was really scary." Her grip on Kate's neck hadn't loosened at all. She shivered slightly. "I wanna go home."

Katie picked her up and slowly stood up. "Sure thing sweetie. We'll head home right now." She began making her way through the now crowded aisle, she heard Miss Bonnie gasp. She looked over at the older woman, keeping her niece firmly in her grasp. "What's wrong?" she asked. She followed Miss Bonnie's gaze and saw that the top shelf previously holding the dolls that were now scattered on the floor was hanging rather precariously from the shelf below it. Two seconds later, the heavy metal crashed to the ground as well. Katie's stomach flipped several times when she saw that the shelf landed exactly where Lilly had been crouched.

The bell on the front door jangled, announcing a new customer. Miss Bonnie turned to greet the person, her voice quite shaky. "Welcome to Granger's."

"Bonnie, are those Cabbage Patch Kids still on sale?" Sadie Jenkins, the owner of the town newspaper asked, as she saw Miss Bonnie standing at the front of the store. "Miranda's been wanting one of those and…oh my goodness, what happened here?" Mrs. Jenkins had entered the toy-strewn area. "Katie, Lilly is everything okay?"

"Everything's fine Sadie, there was just a little accident with one of the shelves. Lilly got a good scare, but we think she's alright. Isn't that right Lilly?" Miss Bonnie answered the question, although she didn't sound completely convinced of her own version of the story.

"It wasn't an accident," Lilly added quietly. She turned around as much as she could in her aunt's arms and pointed to the opposite end of the aisle. "It was that boy that did it."

"What boy Lill?" Katie asked, frowning slightly.

"The boy that was in here right before all the boxes fell. He did it," Lilly replied, her voice not at all wavering.

"Lilly, dear," Miss Bonnie interrupted, "I don't remember seeing any other kids in here, except you. Are you sure you saw someone?" Lilly quickly nodded, before returning her head to her Katie's shoulder.

"Another accident involving the mystery boy," Mrs. Jenkins commented as Katie walked by her. "That's the fourth one in the last three weeks." She took out her ever-present notepad and asked Lilly, "What did the boy look like?"

"Mrs. Jenkins," Katie said rather firmly, "I'm going to take Lilly home. There's no need to make this a story. Lill's fine. It was just an accident. Miss Bonnie, we'll see you later." With that, she walked out the front door of the toy store.

"Well," Mrs. Jenkins huffed to Bonnie. "She didn't have to be rude about it." Sadie was still watching the girls leave and missed Miss Bonnie rolling her eyes.

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Dean Winchester was bored. He'd tried everything to hurry his brother along, bouncing his leg, sighing loudly, even tapping his fingers on the diner table, but nothing was working. Sam was blissfully unaware, patiently working on his computer, a slight frown on his face as he read. Dean had already had three cups of coffee while they had been in the restaurant and was ready to hit the road again, but Sam didn't want to leave the free wireless internet that had drawn them into Thelma's Diner. Just as Dean was about to grab the car keys and leave his little brother, Sam grunted.

"What?" Dean asked. "Please tell me you got something, cause I'm about to go friggin' crazy sitting here waiting on you."

"Really?" Sam replied, a fake smile on his face as he glanced at his brother, "I hadn't noticed."

"Dude, you've got to be kidding me. Don't tell me that you've been doing this on purpose," Dean countered.

Sam continued reading his computer. "Now why would I do that? You're such a joy to be around."

Dean rolled his eyes in response. "Whatever. Did you find us a job?"

Sam nodded before staring. "I think so. A small town in Georgia has reported four 'attacks' on children in the last month."

"Okay, so," Dean asked, draining the last of this coffee, "how is this our type of thing?"

"Well, each kid has reported seeing a mysterious little boy right before they attacked. All four children gave the exact same description. A boy, around 10 years old that they don't recognize and no one else ever sees him." Sam turned the computer around so that the screen was facing Dean. "The kids range in age from 7 to 10, the latest being a 9 year old girl, Lilly Prescott. Boxes fell on her while she was in the local toy store, and it looked like the metal shelf that fell right after she was moved was the actual weapon of choice."

Dean read more of the story before questioning, "So, I don't get it. Why haven't they just found this kid and kicked his sorry little ass?"

Sam had an answer for this. "Because, no one knows who the kid is. Not one person in town thinks the kid sounds familiar. And this is a small town, about 4,500 people. I'm guessing everyone knows everyone. And like the story says, the boy always disappears after the attack, and only the victim sees him."

The older brother continued reading. After a short pause, Dean commented, "It's looks like it's getting worse each time. The first couple were just bumps and bruises. Then a broken arm. And it looks like the last one could have done some real damage. You think it's a vengeful spirit? Some little kid that bought it in the town and is out for revenge?"

Sam shrugged. "Could be. Sounds like the attacks are escalating. And it's a hell of a lot more 'our kind of thing' than the wild werewolf chase you brought us here for," he answered, his voice heavy with sarcasm.

"Hey," Dean frowned in response, "how was I supposed to know the guy was just trying to keep people away his meth lab?"

This time it was Sam's turn to roll his eyes. "Anyway, Commerce is only four hours away from here."

"Great," Dean stated as he shut the laptop and jumped out of the seat. "Let's get out of here."

Sam shoved his computer into this bag and quickly followed him out the door, after throwing a few dollars down on the table. "What's your big hurry?"

Dean tossed the keys to the Impala in the air as he approached the car. "Are you kidding?" he tossed his brother a smirk as he opened the door. "I'm ready to see some Georgia peaches!"


	2. Chapter 2

Disclaimer: I don't own anything you recognize. Boy, I wish I did.

"Yes, I think we'll need about twelve more mum arrangements. They're always big sellers, especially with Memorial Day coming up," Kaitlin said to the supplier on the phone, as she went over her checklist. "And add a couple dozen each of red, white and yellow roses. I think that will do it." She smiled as she finished, "Thanks Darla, you have a good weekend too." She checked her watch and saw that it would be another hour before she had to pick Lilly up from whatever after-school activity she had. Just enough time to get the two bridesmaids' bouquets finished for the Newman/Ross wedding that weekend. She should have started them yesterday, but since she didn't like the bride at all, she was putting them off to the last minute. She moved around the worktable and pulled out the spec sheet to read exactly what flowers and color of ribbon she needed. She was so busy that she didn't hear the rumble of the old car parking in front of the flower shop.

Sam Winchester got out of the passenger side of the car, adjusting this tie as he did. He checked again to make sure he had the fake business card he had made at the Kinko's three towns back and rehearsed again in his mind the story Dean had invented for them.

"Private investigators," Dean had announced yesterday. "We've been hired by the Jenkins family. Ryan Jenkins was the first kid who was attacked. And, as I found out from Mr. Jenkins's very perky-sounding secretary, the whole family is conveniently on vacation for a month. So no one will be able to check our story."

The younger man glanced up at the faded sign above the door of the shop. Matthews Flowers was one of three floral shops in Commerce, but it had been fairly easy to find. They had decided to start with the most recent victim, Lilly Prescott. Lilly's mother owned the flower shop they were at currently, along with her sister Kaitlin. The newspaper story had been very informative, even explaining that Lilly's parents were out of town and that the little girl was staying with her aunt. It was amazing what small towns reported in their local papers.

He waited until Dean rounded the front of the car before going up the three stairs to the front door. His brother reached out and opened the door, gesturing for Sam to enter. "Ladies first," came the inevitable smart-ass remark. Sam opened his mouth to respond in kind, but instead stored the comment away. One of these days he would pay Dean back for all those little digs and it could possibly involve superglue again.

The cheerful jangle of the bell hanging above the door warned Katie that she had a customer. She was elbow deep in baby's breath, so she called pleasantly from around the worktable, "I'll be with you in just a minute." She looked at the clock and noticed that it was time for Jenny Newman's daily visit to 'check' on her flowers. Psycho brides drove her up the wall.

Sam and Dean exchanged glances at the warm Southern greeting. Dean shrugged his shoulders and began wandering around the flower shop. There was plenty to look out and absolutely nothing to keep his attention. All the items for sale were obviously geared towards women. So much so that Dean had a compulsion to do something manly to counteract the smell of potpourri, assorted knickknacks and wedding candles laid out over the store. He was sure there was a look of complete disgust on his face when he turned to face Sam again. Demons and spirits he could handle, but women's taste in decorations, he just did not get.

Katie tied the bow around the bouquet and placed it in the cooler. Wiping her hands on a towel, she walked toward the counter. She braced herself to face the ex-cheerleader turned bride-to-be. Instead she was shocked to see two strangers standing in her shop, both in suits, and both extremely good-looking. The taller of the two men smiled at her. "Hi, we're looking for Kaitlin Matthews?"

Dean and Sam were both startled to see a woman who didn't look much older than Sam emerge from the back of the store. She had dark brown hair that brushed her shoulders and it was currently sporting what looked like a leaf stuck in the strands. Her brown eyes were slightly slanted and made her look as if she were seriously pondering answering Sam's question. A huge apron adorned with several colors of dirt covered her almost entirely, but didn't hide the fact that she was not very tall. She was cute, in a girl-next-door way. Her pensive expression was strengthened when she blinked a couple of times before answering. "I'm Kaitlin. Can I help you?"

Before Sam could answer, a flash of black suit crossed in front of him. "Hello, Miss Matthews," Dean said with his charming smile in place, "I'm Dean Ross and this is Sam Teague. We're private investigators with Wilson and Wilson in Atlanta." He produced his business card and elbowed Sam subtlety to do the same. "We've been hired to look into the accident involving Ryan Jenkins."

If Sam hadn't have been looking right at Katie, he would have missed the slight roll of her eyes. "Let me guess, Sadie wants you to find the little boy that caused Ryan's accident." She threw her towel down on the counter. "That woman overreacts about everything, I swear." Then she blushed slightly, seemingly a little embarrassed by her reaction. This made her look even younger. "I'm sorry, you were saying?" she encouraged the men to continue.

This time, Sam spoke up. "Yes, that's right. We've been asked to locate the boy that Ryan reported in the area before the incident. We understand that your niece, Lilly, had a similar accident a couple of days ago." When Katie nodded, Sam asked, "Would it be possible to speak to her?"

Katie looked from one man to the other, as if trying to decide if they were trustworthy. She started with the taller one, Sam. He had a very honest and open expression on his face, so she was inclined to believe him. The second man, on the other hand, appeared to be the type of guy that her momma always warned her about. The practiced killer grin that was in place made her want to fix her hair and check her makeup. Instead, she mentally shook herself and focused on why the men were in her shop. "Um, Lilly's still at gymnastics and will be for another half an hour. And then I have to get her home so that she can do her homework and eat supper."

"We'd be happy to stop by your house later on this evening, if that's more convenient," Dean quickly added. "We would really like to talk to her niece." She seemed a little taken aback by this suggestion. "If that's alright with you," he said, trying to reassure her.

Katie thought about it for a minute. Knowing the entire Jenkins family as well as she did, she realized they would continue to send people to talk to Lilly until one of them got through. Sadie absolutely refused to believe that her precious grandson was telling anything other than the truth, even though the entire town knew he was a compulsive liar. And since the day of Lilly's accident, she had insisted she had seen a little boy right before the shelf fell. She decided if Lilly talked to the investigators, maybe this whole problem would be solved. And possibly the accidents would stop.

"I suppose that would be okay. I have to go pick Lilly up and then we'll be home for the rest of the night." She grabbed a piece of paper from the register and quickly wrote down the address. "Here you go," she handed it to Sam. "Anytime after 6:00 would be fine."

Sam smiled as he took the paper from her. "That will work out great for us. I don't think our questions will take very long at all." The bell above the door jangled as another customer entered the store. Sure enough, it was Jenny Newman, storming in as if she owned the entire block.

"Kaitlin, do you have the bridesmaids' bouquets finished yet? The wedding is three days, you know," Jenny sniped as soon as she made eye contact with Katie.

Katie managed to plaster on a fake smile before answering, "Yes, Jenny, I just put them in the cooler. Would you like to see them?" She waved at the two guys as they left her shop. Before the door shut behind them completely, Sam and Dean heard the new arrival say,

"Yes I want to see them and why do you have a leaf in your hair?" Sam couldn't help but chuckle as they walked back to the Impala. Small town life was definitely interesting.


	3. Chapter 3

Title: The Boys Went Down to Georgia

Author: Razorbackgal0225

Rating: PG-13--A little language, but that's all

Disclaimer: I don't own any of the characters, cars or situations from Supernatural, but I sure wish I did. Anything you don't recognize is mine.

Author's Note: This is my first time posting a story, so I hope you enjoy. Please review whether you do or you don't. A special thanks to my beta, Sarah, I couldn't do this without her. And thanks to my reviewers, you don't know how happy you've made me!

* * *

The Winchesters pulled into the drive of the address Kaitlin had given them that afternoon. Both men were surprised by the size of the house. It was an older home, two-story, with a wrap around porch decorated with flowers and furnishings that definitely resembled the items in Matthews Flowers. Dean saw his plan to flirt with Katie while they were questioning her niece go out the window. Surely someone else lived in the house with her; it was too big for one person. Sam thought the house was very homey and welcoming. He even went so far as to say so. 

"You've got to be kidding me?" Dean responded as he frowned at his younger brother. "You like this kind of place?"

Sam returned the frown. "What's wrong with it? It's a nice house. Looks like a good place to grow up."

Dean shook his head. "I think it's creepy. All the flowers and girly stuff all over. Places like this always hide some big nasty secret."

Sam looked at Dean in disbelief before reaching for the door handle. "Dude, you've got some serious issues with normal people." He quickly got out of the car and headed up the sidewalk. Dean caught up with him as they reached the porch.

"Normal people are freaks," Dean muttered under his breath. Sam rolled his eyes and pointed to the open windows on the front of the house. The boys could see the yellow curtains fluttering gently in the breeze and they could also hear a little girl singing wholeheartedly along with a radio. Whatever she was listening to, she was obviously a fan. Sam knocked on the door and the singing abruptly stopped.

The front door opened and revealed an adorable little girl on the other side. Her face lit up in a big smile, revealing a missing tooth. Her brown hair was in pigtails and she had a smattering of freckles across her slightly pug nose. Neither man could help but return her friendly grin.

"Hi, you must be Lilly," Sam said in greeting. The girl nodded, the smile not fading a bit. "I'm Sam," he said, gesturing towards himself. Then he pointed at his brother. "And this is Dean. I think your aunt is expecting us." Another nod was his answer, but the screen door stayed close. Dean's eyebrows rose slightly, and his mouth opened to add something, but he was interrupted.

"Lilly, are you going to let your visitors in or are you going to make them stand outside all night?" Kaitlin came up behind Lilly, placing a hand on her shoulder. "Remember your manners, darlin'." She gently pulled Lilly away from the door so that she could let in the two men.

Lilly turned to face her aunt. "I know Aunt Katie, but Momma told me to never let strangers in the house." She spun back around quickly. "I'm sorry sirs," she apologized.

Before Sam could say anything, Dean squatted down to where he was eye-level with Lilly. "That's alright Lilly, your mom was right. You should never let someone you don't know in your house. You're a very smart girl." He glanced up at Katie and was pleased to see her smiling. He fixed his attention on Lilly again. "Do you think your aunt will let us in now?" he whispered conspiratorially.

Katie watched as Lilly become completely enthralled with Dean as he talked to her. She could already tell that before the night was over, her niece would have a huge crush. "I think we can let them in." She pushed open the screen door, allowing both men to enter her house.

Lilly scooted back against Katie's legs, but she never took her eyes off the guy that had been introduced as Dean. She hadn't heard a word anyone had said since he had bent down to talk to her. She loved it when grown-ups talked to her like she a real person and not a little kid and Mr. Dean had done exactly. To top that off, he reminded her of the prince in Sleeping Beauty, her favorite movie of all time.

"If you'll give us just a few minutes, we're almost done with supper." Katie motioned with her head for Lilly to return to her seat. The girl bounced over to the table and sat back down in front of her plate. Her gaze remained on the two men that had followed her and her aunt into the dining room. The taller one was looking around, taking in the furniture and pictures on the wall. She took a bite a macaroni and cheese and glanced under her bangs at Mr. Dean. When she did, he grinned at her and winked. She tried really hard to not smile with her mouth full, but she couldn't help it.

Katie came back from the kitchen with a refill for Lilly's milk. "Can I get ya'll anything to drink? Tea, Coke?" She waited for a response. Sam was the first.

"Tea would be great," he answered. Katie raised her eyebrows at Dean, who quickly voiced his agreement.

"Okay, give me just a minute. Make yourselves at home." She went back into the kitchen. Dean followed her orders and sat at the table, opposite the still-eating Lilly.

Once she had cleared the door and she knew the men couldn't see her, Katie sighed heavily. She was beginning to doubt the wisdom of her decision to allow the investigators to talk to Lilly. She didn't know these guys from Adam, and she had invited them into her home to question her niece. For all she knew, they were some kind of weirdos looking for children to sell or something dreadful like that. Although she had been born and raised in Commerce, she wasn't completely naïve. People like that did exist.

But, as she pulled two glasses from the cabinet and retrieved the fresh pitcher of tea from the refrigerator, she couldn't help but trust them. Katie had always believed that her gut was the best barometer of people, no matter where she met them. She had known the first time she met her brother-in-law that he was absolutely the right man for her sister. It had only taken her two dates to figure out there was something wrong with the last guy she had been seeing. She had been right then as well; he was much too interested in sleeping with her. These guys, though, did not give her any of those feelings. Sam especially seemed honest, and reminded her of one of her best friends in college. If they were up to something, they were doing a great job hiding it.

The boys had discussed before arriving that it would be best to question aunt and niece separately. Sam had been surprised when Dean had volunteered to talk to Lilly, instead of her pretty aunt. He hadn't argued, since Dean always claimed the girl when they split up. If Lilly had seen anything out of the ordinary, Sam had commented, she would be less likely to admit to it with an adult present. Dean had been offended by this, insisting he was an adult and would be there if he were asking her questions. To this, Sam had only smiled and continued with his train of thought. Now, Sam was pleasantly surprised to see Dean conversing with Lilly while she finished eating.

"Mac and cheese, that's some good stuff," Dean commented to Lilly as he loosened his tie. "Let me guess, it's your favorite, isn't it?"

Lilly nodded in response, swallowing her last bite of food before answering. "Yes sir, it is. Fried okra is my second favorite. And chicken strips."

Mr. Dean smiled at her again. "A girl after my own heart. I'm a big fan of French fries myself. Do you like fries?" Lilly's pigtails bounced as she nodded again.

"You like McDonald's the best, don't ya, Lill?" Katie added as she came in the room, carrying two glasses of tea. She handed one each to the 'investigators.' She noticed that Lilly was finished eating and took her plate. "I prefer the steak fries at Pat's Diner, down the street from our shop. They make the best cheese fries in Georgia."

At her comment, Dean shifted his attention from niece to aunt. "We'll keep that in mind. Do they put chili on them too?"

Lilly's eyes grew wide. Mr. Dean was obviously the smartest man alive, other than her father. "How'd you know that?" she asked.

"The best cheese fries would have to have chili on them," he replied. Sam stood nearby in near shock at how easily Dean was getting along with Lilly. Katie moved to take the supper dishes into the kitchen. As subtly as possible, Dean motioned for Sam to follow Katie into the kitchen.

Lilly watched Mr. Sam go into the other room, after Aunt Katie. She had her chin propped on her hand, trying her best not to stare at the 'prince' that was at her table. Her mom had told her that boys didn't like it when you stared, and she wanted Mr. Dean to like her. She knew he wanted to talk to her about the shelf falling in Granger's, and she was debating on telling him the whole truth. She would have to wait and see how things went. Maybe he would believe her that the something had been wrong with the little boy she had seen.

Dean turned back to Lilly. "So, Lilly, I understand something weird happened to you the other day when you were in the toy store." He rested his forearms on the table and dropped his head a little, so that he was eye level with the girl. "Do you want to tell me about it?" He noticed that Lilly had picked up at least one of her aunt's habits, when she blinked slowly a couple of times before answering.

"I do, but I don't think you'll believe me." Her voice was softer than before and had a sad note to it. "Aunt Katie thinks I was confused."

Dean clenched his jaw slightly. From what he could tell, Katie had her niece's best interests at heart, but sometimes adults completely brushed off children's observations as imagination or flat out lies. Katie might have thought there was no way anything other than bad luck had caused that shelf to fall, but Lilly obviously felt different.

"I tell you what," he began, "you can tell me whatever you want about what happened in the store, and I promise to believe you. No matter how crazy you think it sounds." He saw Lilly glance towards the kitchen where her aunt was. "And I won't tell your aunt anything you don't want me to," he added.

Lilly thought long and hard before she responded. "You promise?"

Dean smiled. "I promise." Then she surprised him.

"Pinky swear." She sat up and held out her hand, pinky finger extended, waiting for him to do that same. Everyone knew that pinky swearing was the most concrete kind of promise you could give. If Mr. Dean pinky swore, then he really wouldn't tell.

Dean frowned slightly, staring at her little hand like it might be infected with the plague. He quickly peeked over his shoulder to ensure Sam was not anywhere around. He prayed to all that was holy that what he was about to do would never seen by anyone, ever. Then, he sighed deeply and hooked his finger around Lilly's. "Pinky swear." When Lilly looked satisfied, he added, "And that's our little secret, alright?" Lilly nodded. "Now, what happened when the shelf fell?"

Since Mr. Dean had agreed to her terms, she knew she could trust him. "Right before the shelf fell, I saw a boy. He was standing at the end of the doll aisle."

"Did you know him?" Dean asked.

Lilly shook her head. "No, I've never seen him before. And, he wasn't," she hesitated for a second. "He wasn't…right."

"What do you mean, he was acting weird, gave you a dirty look?" he prompted. Lilly looked down at the table for a moment and Dean knew immediately that the kid had been a ghost. Even a smart girl like Lilly would have a hard time describing something that she had never encountered before. He guessed it wasn't everyday some spirit kid tried to knock you silly with a metal shelf. "It's okay, Lilly, you can tell me."

When she met his eye, he saw in her expression what he was in every child's face that he had met while on a job. She was scared, she was confused and she desperately wanted someone to believe her and tell her everything was going to be alright. It wasn't fair for a little kid to carry this kind of burden around. She finally said,

"I could see through him."

In the next room, Sam was leaning against the kitchen cabinets next to Katie as she rinsed off dishes before putting them in the dishwasher. He didn't expect to get a lot of information from her, considering she hadn't seen anything out of the ordinary. He decided to take the roundabout approach. "This is a really nice house," he commented.

Katie paused in her work for a moment. "Thanks," she replied, smiling. "It's my parents. Well, it was until they retired to Florida, so I guess it's mine now. They had planned on giving it to Amanda and Alex, but they ended up buying their house before Mom and Dad were ready to move." She shrugged as she finished. "So, it's just me rattling around in here." Sam noticed how easily she offered the explanation, and wondered if this openness was normal for her. She continued loading the dishwasher. As she did, she asked, "Do you really think something happened when that shelf fell?"

Sam waited until she stopped working and faced him completely. "Well, considering there have been three other 'accidents' before Lilly's, and all the kids swear they saw the same boy right before, it's kind of suspicious." He drained the last of his tea and handed her the glass. "What do you think?"

Katie let a huge sigh, blowing her bangs out of her eyes as she did. "I don't remember seeing anyone else in the toy store while we were there. And no one came in after we did, or we would have heard the bell above the door ring. I just can't imagine anyone wanting to hurt these kids. I know for sure that Lilly doesn't have an enemy in the world."

"Is there a back door to the toy store?" Sam asked.

Blink, blink. Sam noted that Katie always blinked twice before answering a question when she wanted to consider her answer. "There is. I never even thought about it, since no one ever uses it. I think the only time its ever opened is when they get deliveries. I know that's the only time our back door is ever open. You think someone could have snuck in and out?"

He nodded in agreement. "It's possible. We'll check it out, see if maybe it was left unlocked by mistake."

She sighed again, this time wearily. "I don't mind tellin' you, I'll be happy when this whole mess is over with. My sister was already threatening to come home early from New York when I told her what happened to Lilly. If she thinks someone did it on purpose, she'll be pouncing on me like a duck on a June bug." Sam couldn't help but laugh at her. "I'm serious!" she added. "It took her forever to leave Lilly with me, since I'm the younger, less mature, obviously not old enough to handle any kind of responsibility sister. Now with all this, I'll be lucky if Lill gets to visit."

Sam was still laughing when he said, "It doesn't matter how old you get, you'll still always be her younger sister, right?" A slight bit of sarcasm colored this statement.

Katie smiled in return. "Spoken like a true little brother. How much younger are you?"

"Four years," he answered. "And sometimes you'd think it was four decades with the way he treats me."

"I graduated with honors from the University of Georgia, but if you asked Amanda, I don't have the sense to come in out of the rain, just because I happen to have been born six years after her," Katie said. "You've gotta love them, don't you?"

Before Sam could reply, Lilly led Dean into the kitchen. "Aunt Katie, Mr. Dean wants to see Belle. Is it alright if I take him outside?"

Katie tried not to giggle at the sight of the grown man tagging along behind her little niece, but it was hard not to. "Sure, sweetie, that's fine. But don't make him go if he doesn't want to."

Dean quickly interrupted. "I've heard a lot about her, I'm looking forward to meeting her." This was said as he was being dragged to the back door. Katie couldn't help but be impressed with how he was treating Lilly. Most guys their age that didn't have kids of their own acted as if Lilly were nothing more than a nuisance.

"Um, who's Belle?" Sam asked from behind her.

"Lilly's pet rabbit. Actually, I'm not so sure you can call her a pet, she's practically part of the family." She walked over to the window looking out over the backyard. Sam followed her and could see Lilly opening a large cage and taking out something large, gray and flop eared. At that moment, he would have traded his favorite gun to be able to hear Dean's reaction to being handed a rabbit. To his credit, Dean accepted the bunny, even petting it on the head. Sam could see that Lilly was talking pretty much continuously the whole time they were standing there, and Dean acted if he was paying attention.

"I'm sure she's talking his ear off," Katie commented. "I should probably go rescue him."

Sam grinned inwardly, thoroughly enjoying the scene outside. "You know, he'll be okay for a few more minutes. If that's alright with you."

"It's fine with me. I don't know that she's ever met a stranger," Katie commented. "Which is way it's so strange that…" Katie's thought trailed off as she continued to watch her niece.

"Why what's so strange?" Sam moved from behind Katie to beside her. "Something to do with the incident in the store?"

Katie turned to face Sam completely, uncertainty written all over her face. "The boy that Lilly said she saw. She said she didn't recognize him. Lilly knows everybody under the age of 16 in this town and 90 of everyone else. It's just weird." She shrugged. "This whole thing has been weird."

"Can you think of anything else that happened in the days before Lilly was attacked? Did she mention seeing anyone she didn't know, did she go someplace unusual, anything at all?" Sam asked.

Katie paused a moment, obviously in thought, before answering. "Not that I can think. And she normally tells me everything." The back door opened as she finished this statement and Lilly entered the kitchen, with Dean in tow. Sam laughed inwardly, Dean looked slightly overwhelmed by the little girl's attention.

"And then the goat tried to eat Kelly's hat, but Mr. Myers got it back for her. She was crying the whole time, but my friend Casey and me thought it was funny," Lilly was finishing a story as they joined Sam and Katie next to the island.

"Sounds like you had a great time at the petting zoo, Lilly. I wish we had gone on field trips like that when I was in school. The most exciting thing we ever got to see was a peanut farm," Dean answered. Lilly was positively beaming from all the attention she was receiving.

Katie whispered to Sam, "She's told that story about going to the petting zoo five times since they went last week. Trust me, if you're around much more, you'll get to hear it, too."

"So," Sam began. He was chuckling slightly, both from Katie's previous comment and what he said seen outside, "How was Belle?" The glance he was sent with the reply was borderline murderous.

"Belle's a very nice bunny. We got along just fine." Dean checked his watch and stated, rather abruptly, "We'd better get out of your hair, I'm sure you have things to do."

Lilly bounced in front of Dean, pigtails flying. "Will you be back, Mr. Dean?" she asked expectantly.

"I'm sure we'll see you again before we leave town, munchkin," Dean gave one of the pigtails a slight tug, and was bestowed a gap-toothed grin. "Remember, if anything else weird happens to you or any of your friends, you call that number I gave you, okay?" Lilly nodded in response.

"Same goes for you, if anything strange happens or you see anyone that you don't recognize, Lilly has my cell phone number," this was directed at Katie, who also nodded. "We'll let you know if we find out anything."

Sam decided one of them had to be polite. He held out his hand to Katie, which she took. "Thank you so much for your time, Katie, we appreciate it."

"Oh, it's no problem, let me know if you need anything else. We definitely want to get whatever happened figured out." Katie commented, smiling to the tall man. She forced herself to not note that Sam's hand engulfed hers. And that both of the men in her house were the first attractive men she had talked to in months. Especially when Dean copied Sam's action, as well as giving that lady-killer smile.

"Bye, Mr. Dean. Bye Mr. Sam," Lilly said as she followed them to the front door.

"Bye Lilly, it was nice to meet you," Sam replied, walking out on the porch.

As Dean walked to the car, he turned back to face the girls standing at in the doorway. "Hey, Lilly," he called back, "watch out for those goats." Lilly dissolved into giggles and Dean smiled to himself as he got into the Impala. He made a point to ignore the look Sam was giving him while he was backing out of the drive. When he couldn't any more, he finally asked, "What?"

"Goats?"

Dean shrugged, "Goats."


	4. Chapter 4

Title: The Boys Went Down to Georgia

Author: Razorbackgal0225

Rating: PG-13--A little language, but that's all

Disclaimer: I don't own any of the characters, cars or situations from Supernatural, but I sure wish I did. Anything you don't recognize is mine.

Author's Note: This is my first time posting a story, so I hope you enjoy. Please review whether you do or you don't. A special thanks to my beta, Sarah, I couldn't do this without her.

* * *

Katie had the radio blaring country music as she worked steadily at the worktable. Wednesday mornings were generally slow at the flower shop, so she was using this time to work on new designs for the summer flower arranging class she was teaching at the annex in June. During a pause in the music, she heard the phone ringing on the front counter. She threw off her gloves and rushed to answer it. 

"Matthews Flower Shop, this is Katie. How may I help you?" she answered, trying to sound as pleasant as possible.

"You can start by turning down that music. You're not going to hear any customers come in the shop with all that racket." The order was infused with warmth and affection and Katie laughed softly into the receiver.

"Whatever, you wouldn't know good music if it bit you in the butt, Manda," she retorted. "And what makes you think I even had the radio on?"

Amanda Prescott sighed loudly on the other end of the line. "Please, it's Wednesday. You always have the music turned up on Wednesdays. But I won't care as long as you tell me you finished Jenny Newman's bridesmaids' bouquets. That woman has emailed me three times since I've been gone! I'm trying to figure out if I can block her on my Blackberry."

Katie rolled her eyes. "I finished them yesterday. Jenny needs to seriously chill. It's just a wedding and we both know it won't be her last." Katie continued sharing hometown news with her older sister. Amanda had been in London for about a week, attending a conference with her husband, Alex. While Lilly had often spent the night with Katie as she was growing up, this was the first time Amanda had been away from her daughter for more than a weekend. These 'check-in' phone calls had been occurring daily due to this. Katie tried to not feel hurt by this, and told herself she would act the same way if it were her kid that was staying with Amanda.

As nothing terribly important was happening with the Flower Shop and with Lilly finishing school for the year in two days, Katie didn't have much to report. Right before the girls hung up, Katie remembered to tell Amanda,

"Oh, by the way, there were a couple of private detectives at the shop yesterday. And then at my house."

"Private detectives?" Amanda asked, surprise evident in her voice. "What did they want?"

"Sadie Jenkins hired some agency to find out what happened to Ryan that day at school. She's still convinced that mystery boy had something to do with it. And since she decided to write up Lilly's accident at Granger's for last week's edition of the paper, the investigators came to talk to Lilly." Katie had walked back to the worktable, phone held between her shoulder and her chin, and was working on her arrangement again. "No big deal."

A pause followed her last statement and Katie could imagine the tension beginning to build in Amanda's shoulders. "What do you mean, no big deal? A couple of strangers come to talk to my daughter and you don't think it's any big deal? Kaitlin Christine Matthews, what is the matter with you?!" Amanda shouted at her sister. Katie had expected a negative reaction from her sister, but not this much.

"What's with the gratuitous full name usage, Manda? They were both very nice and very respectful of both Lilly and me. As a matter of fact, Lilly's picking out her wedding colors, since she's convinced one of them was the model for the prince in Sleeping Beauty."

"Oh, so they're good-looking?" came the next question. Katie bristled at the suspicion she heard in Amanda's voice and stopped working. She focused her full attention on the conversation.

"Not that it has any bearing on this situation, but yes, they are both attractive men. What does that have to do with anything?" Katie glanced into the lobby of the store to make sure there weren't any customers lurking about, since she was pretty sure she was about to lose her temper.

"It has to do with the fact that just because you think a guy's hot and your 'gut'" Katie's anger rose another notch, knowing that Amanda was doing those annoying air quotations when she said that, "tells you he's okay doesn't mean he's safe to have around my daughter. I swear I'm not trying to be mean, but when you have kids, I think you'll understand a little more."

Instead of yelling at Amanda, which she really wanted to do, Katie clenched her jaw and took a deep breath. She counted to five silently and then asked, "What do you want me to do, Amanda?"

"Why don't you call the agency that Sadie hired and check them out? And you can call me an over-protective mother behind my back. But with what happened to Lilly at Granger's and Tina Lloyd, I want to make doubly sure she's safe. Alright?" Amanda pleaded.

"Okay. I'll check with the agency. They're based out of Atlanta. I'll let you know what I find out," she relented. "Are you going to call Lilly tonight?"

"Yep. Seriously, Katie, I just want to make sure they're on the up and up. If they are," Amanda began, but Katie interrupted.

"If they are, then I'm giving Jenny Newman your phone number in the hotel." The girls said their goodbyes and Katie went back to work on her arrangement design.

Fifteen minutes later, she smiled proudly at her latest creation. She might not have the most common sense in the world, especially according to her older sister, but Katie had every confidence in her talent with flowers. She had been offered jobs with some of the bigger flower dealers in Atlanta and even as far away as Dallas, but she couldn't bear to think of leaving Commerce. Thinking of Atlanta reminded her that she had promised to call the private detective agency for which Sam and Dean worked to ensure they were on the 'up and up.' She went into Amanda's office and grabbed the huge Atlanta yellow pages they had. She skimmed the firms until she found Wilson and Wilson. She dialed the number listed.

"Wilson and Wilson Detective Agency, how may I direct your call?" she was greeted by a distinctly fake Southern accent.

"Hi, I had been contacted by a couple of detectives that work for you and I was trying to get in touch with them again. Could you possibly put me in contact with them?" Katie had rehearsed in her mind that story and had decided it was best. She wasn't about to explain to someone that her slightly over-protective sister didn't believe her.

"What names, please?" the female voice was decidedly less pleasant than when the exchange started.

"Either Sam Teague or Dean Ross," Katie read the names off the cards Sam and Dean had left with her yesterday. As she waited, she noticed something strange. The phone number listed on the cards wasn't the same number she had dialed. Actually, it wasn't even close, only the area code was the same. Her palms turned cold and clammy and her heart began to race as the possibility that the men had lied to her looked more and more like a reality.

"I'm sorry miss, we don't have any detectives by either of those names on our staff. May I transfer you to one of our managers?" the voice came back.

"No, that's alright, thank you anyway," Katie managed to blurt out before slamming the phone down. She felt a full-blown panic attack coming on the horizon as she tried to calm herself down. Her sister had been right; she had been too trusting of the men that had questioned Lilly. Glancing down at the business card still in her hand, she threw them down on the counter violently.

"Crap."


	5. Chapter 5

Title: The Boys Went Down to Georgia

Author: Razorbackgal0225

Rating: PG-13--A little language, but that's all

Disclaimer: I don't own any of the characters, cars or situations from Supernatural, but I sure wish I did. Anything you don't recognize is mine.

Author's Note: Thanks to the reviewers! You make me want to finish this!

* * *

The boys' day had been busy. They had gone to the scene of each attack, checking for any sign of supernatural activity. The EMF meters had shown zilch. Every place they had visited had been completely clean. Even Sam's 'spidey-sense' hadn't picked up anything. The only thing Sam had noticed was how easy it had been to sneak into Granger's Toy Store without the cashier knowing. This supported Sam's growing theory that maybe this wasn't a ghost with which they were dealing. Now, they were at the town's newspaper office, going through back issues, searching for anything that sounded as if it would fit the situation. 

"Well, there goes that theory," Sam announced, seemingly out of nowhere.

Dean took his attention away the old newspaper he was reading and focused it on his brother across the table. "What theory? We had a theory?"

Sam rolled his eyes before answering. "Remember the kid that Tina Lloyd's mother mentioned? The one that got hit by the car in the Wal-Mart parking lot?" Dean nodded. "I can guarantee you that the boy Lilly and Tina saw before their attacks was not that kid."

"Let me guess," Dean commented, "The kid's remains were cremated so there's no way it could be his angry spirit."

"Nope," Sam replied. He handed an article to Dean, over the stacks of newspapers between them. It contained a picture of a sports team. "The boy that was hit by that car five years ago is now the star of the high school basketball team. He was knocked unconscious and had a broken leg, but he recovered nicely."

Dean frowned. "So there goes that theory," he repeated.

"You know," the younger man finally voiced his opinion, "maybe this isn't one of our type of cases. Maybe it is some random kid doing this. Or maybe it's overactive imaginations at work."

"No," Dean countered, rather vehemently. Sam was surprised by the strength of his response. "The description Lilly gave of the boy was much too detailed. It sounded exactly like ghost."

"Listen, I know she's a sweet girl, but we don't have any other corroborating evidence. Tina Lloyd is still in shock and," Sam paused and gestured at the newspapers stacked on the table, "we haven't found anything about a violent death of a little boy in the last 15 years."

"Hey," Dean argued, "just because you're using those college boy words, I know what you're saying." He stood from the table, obviously upset. "You don't believe Lilly."

"It's not that I don't believe her, Dean," Sam answered. "But you know as well as I do, that kids get confused and exaggerate. She might have not seen what she thought. And you saw yourself how easy it was to sneak into that toy store. Maybe that boy did the same thing."

Dean was shaking his head before Sam was finished speaking. "She wasn't confused. That boy she saw was a ghost. I know that as sure as I'm standing here."

If the kids that had been attacked weren't confused, Sam certainly was. Dean was stubborn to the point that once he made up his mind about a case it was almost impossible to convince him another solution was possible. This time, though, he was even more obstinate than usual. The instant connection he had made with Lilly was another issue with which Sam wasn't entirely clear. Lilly was about thirteen years younger than most girls that caught Dean's interest. Sam might have thought Dean was guilty of using the niece to impress the aunt, but that didn't seem to be the case. Before he had a chance to question his brother's motives, Dean spoke again.

"Let's go talk to Lilly again. If she gives a different story or you hear something that doesn't sound like our kind of case, then we'll head out of town tomorrow morning." Dean was already grabbing the Impala's keys off the table.

Sam had learned in twenty-three years of living with Dean that it was easier to give in at this junction than argue. He nodded and lifted himself out of the wooden chair. "Alright."

"Great," Dean responded, tossing the keys to himself as he left the room. "This time, I get to question Katie." He threw a cocky grin over his shoulder as he pushed the door to the parking lot open. Sam shook his head and reconsidered his earlier conclusion. Maybe it was the aunt.

Five minutes later, Dean pulled into Katie's driveway and put the Impala in park. He exited the car and forced himself not to rush to the porch. Dean had never been one for self-analyzing, and as such, he hadn't put a lot of thought into why he liked Lilly as much as he did. He only knew that Lilly was a sweet kid with a lot of spunk, something most of the kids today were lacking. She had been respectful to Sam and him, another trait that wasn't instilled in much of the younger generation. He hadn't even minded holding Belle, which spoke volumes. Especially to Sam.

The younger Winchester had been pondering this same issue since they had left Katie's house the day before. It wasn't unusual for Dean to be concerned about children involved in a case. His over-developed sense of 'big brotherness,' as Sam liked to call it, caused this. Lilly was special, though. Not only was Dean determined to protect the little girl, but he also appeared to genuinely like her. Sam continued to be perplexed by his older brother. Just when he thought he had seen all there was to Dean, another quirk would pop up.

Sam joined Dean at the front door of Katie's house and waited as Dean knocked. A few seconds later, they heard skipping footsteps approach the front door. Lilly pulled the door open and smiled at them through the screen door.

"Mr. Dean, Mr. Sam, you're back!" she exclaimed, happily.

Dean returned her grin. "I told you you'd see us again, munchkin. Can we come in?"

Katie heard Dean speaking and her heart began to pound. She had hoped that the men wouldn't come back to her house and that she wouldn't be forced to face them. She didn't exactly enjoy confrontations. If this had only involved her, she would have pretended she wasn't at home, or something equally evasive. But she had already had the pleasure of telling her sister that the men had been lying; she didn't want to have to tell Amanda she had been chicken as well. She took a deep breath and headed towards the front door.

As Lilly reached up to unlock the screen door, Katie walked into the hallway. "Lilly, honey, go upstairs." Her voice was much harsher than the day before, but trembled a little as she spoke. Three pairs of eyes, all confused, rested upon her. She stepped behind her niece and pulled her away from the door. "You heard me, upstairs. Now."

"Aunt Katie, what's wrong?" Lilly asked, her lip quivering a little.

"What's wrong is that I told you to go upstairs, and you haven't yet," Katie commanded. Lilly's expression changed to sullen as she took two shuffling steps toward the stairs. At that moment, she looked exactly like her mother had when Katie and Amanda's mom would order her to not play with her makeup. She realized her aunt wasn't going to relent, when Katie's eyebrows rose in frustration. Lilly stomped into the next room.

"Katie, is there something wrong?" Sam asked. Katie whirled back around to face the two men. Sam quickly noticed that the eyes that had been so warm and friendly the day before were now hot with anger. He involuntarily took a step backwards.

Even her southern drawl didn't soften her next words. "You could say there's something wrong. I found out the nice men I allowed to question my niece, my nine-year-old niece, lied to me. I called Wilson and Wilson today and they've never heard of either of you. Are you even private investigators? Or was everything you said a lie?"

Sam immediately began trying to work on a cover story to explain the glaringly obvious false identifies they had given her. Before he could get past 'we're undercover,' Dean was speaking.

"No, we're not private investigators, Katie. We did lie to you. But there was some truth to what we told you." This was obviously not what Katie had expected to hear, as she appeared slightly shocked. So did Sam. Katie recovered quicker.

"If you're not investigators, then what do you want with Lilly?" she asked, then raised a hand to cut off any answer she was about to receive. "You know what, no, I don't want to know. Just get off my porch and get out of our lives!" She put a hand on the door to shut it, but was stopped by Dean's response.

"Wait, Katie, we can explain." He took a step toward the screen door, causing Katie to take a matching step back. "We are investigating the accidents that have been happening. We are investigators, just not exactly like we said."

"Really, I would have never guessed." Her comment was heavily laced with sarcasm. "I don't care why you are here, I just want you gone."

The next words tumbled out of Sam's mouth before he could stop himself. "We think Lilly might have been attacked by a ghost." This time it was Dean's turned to be shocked. He hadn't expected Sam to spill that secret. In truth, Sam hadn't meant to say it. He wasn't even sure he believed it, but he had to tell Katie something to keep her from thinking they were kidnappers or worse. His explanation was met by a strangled laugh from Katie.

"A ghost? You've got to be kidding me? Oh, that's it, ya'll are just nuts. Get off of my porch, or I will call the police," Katie retorted. "I have nothing more to say to ya'll."

"Listen," Dean began. "We know this sounds weird, but after talking to Lilly, we think that the little boy she saw before the shelf fell might be a ghost. We're still trying to find out who or why, but that's what we think is happening."

It was evident that Katie was growing angrier and angrier with each passing minute. "You expect me to believe that a _ghost_ is haunting my niece. And what, you're the ghost-busters?" she scoffed. "This is frickin' unbelievable. Just leave, now!"

Dean's voice was rising in volume to match Katie's. "If we leave now, you may never know what's going. Are you willing to risk more kids being hurt or worse?"

Katie huffed at this idea. "Don't even try to lay some kind of weird guilt trip on me. For all I know, ya'll have something to do with these accidents. If you don't want to end up in jail, I suggest you never show your face in this town again."

Before Dean could make another response, Sam put a restraining hand on his arm. Dean turned to look at his brother, and Sam tried to make a smooth exit. "We're sorry, Katie, we'll be going." He tugged on Dean's arm, hard enough to force the older man to take step toward the stairs leading away from the house. The slamming of the door as soon as they left the porch put a period at the end of the conversation.

Katie leaned up against the door she had just shut and let out a shaky breath. She could not believe that those guys had tried to convince her that a ghost was involved in Lilly's accident. Like she even believed ghosts were real. She didn't know what kind of freaks Sam 'Teague' and Dean 'Ross' were, but she was glad they were finally gone.

Dean was muttering under his breath the whole walk back to the Impala. Sam knew this wasn't going to be a pleasant ride back to the motel. At least, he hoped they would still be able to go to the motel. If Katie followed through with her threat of contacting the authorities, the possibility existed that they would be run out of town. It had certainly happened before. As Sam climbed into the passenger seat, Dean turned the key violently to start the car and then hit the steering wheel.

"Damn it!" he yelled. Sam waited; knowing more was on the way. Dean continued his rant as he backed out of the driveway. "What the hell were you thinking, telling her the truth like that?"

"What was I supposed to do?" Sam defended himself. "She obviously was thinking the worst of us. I'm surprised she didn't greet us with a shotgun. Or have some nice police officers waiting on us."

Dean let out a loud sigh. "Now there's no way we're going to be able to talk to Lilly again. And that puts us back at square one."

Sam did not know how to put his next idea without getting a negative reaction out of his brother. Although with Dean driving, that did lower the risk of getting punched in the shoulder. "Dean, I'm seriously beginning to wonder if we need to stick around."

"What?" Dean practically shouted. "Are you kidding me? You know what's going to happen if we don't send this ghost to hell. It's going to kill someone."

"Other than sketchy accounts from children, what do we have to go on? We've been through fifteen years of news from this town and haven't found one story about a kid dying in a violent way." Sam pushed a hand through his shaggy hair. "I know I told Katie that it was a ghost, but honestly, I'm just not convinced."

This time it was Dean who showed his frustration. He scrubbed his hand over his face. "One more day, alright? One more day and if we don't find anything, we'll show this town our taillights."

Sam contemplated this deal for a moment. Then he nodded in agreement. "Alright. One more day." He opened his mouth as if to continue, but didn't. Dean saw this out of the corner of his eye and commented,

"What? Anything else you want to tell me?"

It was obvious that Sam was hesitant to finish his thought. "I just hope you're not doing this out of some misguided need to be every kid's big brother. Cause you know you don't have to."

"Oh God," Dean mumbled bitterly. "You've already told me I'm wrong today, can we skip the Oprah moment?"

The younger man chuckled. "No Oprah moment." He skipped a beat before adding, "Right now."


	6. Chapter 6

Title: The Boys Went Down to Georgia

Author: Razorbackgal0225

Rating: PG-13--A little language, but that's all

Disclaimer: I don't own any of the characters, cars or situations from Supernatural, but I sure wish I did. Anything you don't recognize is mine.

Author's Note: This is my first time posting a story, so I hope you enjoy. Please review whether you do or you don't. A special thanks to my beta, Sarah, I couldn't do this without her. And thanks to my reviewers, you don't know how happy you've made me!

* * *

Katie's day had been a living nightmare. She hadn't slept well the night before, mostly due to the raging headache that had developed during her fight with Lilly. When Sam and Dean had finally left the house, Lilly had pounded back down the stairs demanding to know why her aunt had turned them away. For all of Lilly's normal sweetness, she had one heck of a temper when she was riled. More yelling had led to tears on both sides, with finally a phone call to Amanda being placed. Amanda had managed to calm Lilly down slightly and had informed her that Katie was only doing what was necessary. It had been tricky explaining to Lilly why the men weren't welcome in the house anymore. Amanda and Katie had agreed that telling Lilly the whole truth, especially Amanda's suspicions that involved a child-slavery ring, was not the best idea. The little girl had still been angry with both women for not believing Mr. Dean and Mr. Sam, but she had at least calmed down enough to go to sleep. 

Breakfast that morning had been a silent affair. Lilly had prepared for her last day of school, still a little sullen, but had eventually given Katie a hug when they started towards the garage. That hug had so far been the one bright spot in her Katie's day.

When she arrived at the flower shop, Jenny Newman had been waiting outside the locked door, demanding the Katie start decorating the church as soon as she could. Katie had diplomatically explained that the wedding coordinator was picking up the flowers later in the morning and would set everything up, but Jenny had been adamant that Katie oversee the movement of the flowers. So, Katie had put up her 'Gone on Shop Business' for an hour and trudged down to the Presbyterian Church. The bright sunlight had not helped her headache at all and neither had the shrieking from Jenny's three flower girls.

Katie had finally escaped the church at 10:30, reopened the flower shop and tried not to have a nervous break down. While she realized the events from the night before were troubling her, she couldn't quite understand the intensity of her feelings regarding the whole thing. She had met the men claiming to be investigators twice, once for all of five minutes, yet she felt strangely betrayed by them. She tried to tell herself that she would have felt that way if it had been anyone that lied to her, but she wasn't convinced. Each time she made the decision to write them off as complete freaks, the warmth and sincerity of Sam's eyes came back to her. She couldn't decide which bothered her more: that they had lied to her or that she had been so quick to believe them.

To take her mind off the situation, Katie looked out the open door of the flower shop. Today being the last day of school, class pictures were being taken in front of the old courthouse and it was a perfect day of it. A steady stream of children had been climbing up the three step risers that were set up under the magnolia tree directly across the street from the store. The kids' giggling was a balm to Katie's frazzled nerves. She smiled for the first time all day. "Everything's going to be alright," she told herself softly.

Seeing that Mrs. Henry's third graders were starting to get set up, she grabbed the digital camera from under the counter and moved outside. She had promised Lilly she would get a picture for her, so that she didn't have to wait on the one from the photographer. Class pictures were a very big deal at Lilly's age.

She stepped outside into the bright late morning sunshine. She smiled at several parents that had the same idea she did, all holding cameras as well. Her smile grew as she watched her niece and her friends switch places on the risers, everyone wanting to stand next to someone else. Lilly waved at her and Katie returned the gesture before walking over to talk to one of the other woman standing a few feet away from the kids.

On the steps, Lilly readjusted her ponytail for the sixth time the morning. She didn't consider herself very girly, but as her mom had taught her, pictures in Commerce always lasted forever. She did not want to look messy in this picture. She was very pleased with her position, between her best friend Casey and the cutest boy in their class, David. Not that she really cared that he was cute, but it was nice to be standing next to him. He wasn't anything compared to Mr. Dean, or even Mr. Sam for that matter. She was still unhappy with Aunt Katie for throwing them out of the house the day before, but she couldn't stay mad at her very long. Aunt Katie had told her that Mr. Sam and Mr. Dean had lied about who they were and she couldn't very well believe strangers over her favorite aunt, even if she liked them a lot. Her teacher interrupted her thoughts with the announcement that it was time to take the picture. Lilly saw that Aunt Katie was ready with her camera and that the photographer was starting the normal countdown. She put on her prettiest smile and waited.

Just before the photographer got to the 'say cheese' part, Nicki Wilson, who was standing on the front row said, "Hey, who's that kid?" The photographer, obviously tired of dealing with kids for three hours, stopped the count.

"Listen, kids, let's try and be quiet for just a few seconds and we'll all be done," a definite thread of impatience evident in his voice. At the same time, one of the other kids said, "Yeah, who is that?" A few of the kids, including Lilly, refocused on the spot where Nicki had pointed earlier. Lilly's heart began to pound and her eyes grew big. It was the boy from the toy store, still see-through, standing off to the side of the risers.

A lot of things happened in the next few seconds. Not knowing that the kids weren't paying attention, several of the parents behind the big camera, including Katie, took their pictures. A weird noise, like a rock scraping against a driveway caused some of the grown-ups to search for the source of the sound. Suddenly, one of the teachers from another class rushed over to the risers, yelling at the kids to move. All the kids, confused by the new orders, didn't know what to do. Dirt started to rain down from above, hitting some of the kids as they ran off the steps. The noise grew louder and rose above the squeals of the children, causing the parents and Katie to look up. One of the heavy planters that sat on the ledge of the clock tower was moving. The parents scrambled to reach their children, hoping to get them out of the way before the planter fell.

"Lilly!" Katie yelled at her niece. The little girl was transfixed by something off to the side of the action and wasn't moving quick enough to suit her aunt. Katie darted across the street, yelling Lilly's name the whole time. When Lilly caught her aunt's movement out of the corner of her eye, it broke the spell. She ran, with her best friend Casey right behind her, straight to Katie, who was waiting with open arms to catch them. They had only taken a couple of steps when the scraping noise stopped and the planter plunged to the ground. It smashed into the ground, several of the kids screaming as it broke into pieces. Some of the shards bounced towards the remaining children; a few of the larger ones hitting kids that hadn't moved quickly enough. Adults rushed to the injured children, picking them up and carrying them to a safer area. Someone was heard shouting into a cell phone at the 9-1-1 operator.

Katie grabbed Lilly and Casey into a bear hug when they reached her and turned them away from the activity. A couple of the kids were crying and Katie could see at least one of them was bleeding pretty heavily. A moment later, Casey's mom rushed over to Katie's side, claiming her daughter. Katie bent down and picked up Lilly, cradling her much as she had the day after the accident in the Toy Store. Moving away from the activity, Katie crossed the street and leaned against the side of the building.

"Did you see him, Aunt Katie?" Lilly whispered, her head buried in Kate's shoulder.

"See who, sweetheart?"

"That little boy. He was here right before that thing fell. The one I saw in Granger's that day."

Katie felt her heart begin to pound. The nagging suspicion she had that something weird was happening grew. She knew her niece and knew without a shadow of a doubt that Lilly wouldn't make up something like this, especially after having seen some of her friends hurt. Still holding Lilly, she stroked her back and murmured words of comfort to her. The whole time, she was wracking her brain for an explanation for all these attacks.

A few minutes later, Katie had Lilly settled in the back room of the flower shop, drinking a juice box and watching TV. She walked out of the shop and surveyed the scene. Two ambulances had arrived, one was about to transport the child with the major injury to the hospital. The other ambulance was being used to treat the minor scrapes and bruises that had been acquired. She could hear the parents discussing what had happened, but couldn't make out anything specifically. She wasn't sure she wanted to hear what they had to say. As she moved further out onto the sidewalk, Katie noticed something lying next to one of her flower boxes. She realized it was camera, which she had dropped in haste when going to meet Lilly.

She picked it up, an uncomfortable thought creeping into her conscious. The kids had been distracted by something right before she had taken the picture. She hesitantly hit the 'review' button on the camera. Scrolling quickly through the pictures of flower arrangements, she came to the picture of Lilly's class. Her breath stopped in her throat and she choked back a gasp. Not more than two feet away from the kids stood a little boy, dressed in completely old-fashioned clothing, staring up at the ledge where the planter had been. A cold chill ran up her spine. She was absolutely certain that she had not seen that boy when she originally took the picture. Her thoughts immediately turned to Sam and Dean. What if they were right? What if this was a ghost?


	7. Chapter 7

Title: The Boys Went Down to Georgia

Author: Razorbackgal0225

Rating: PG-13--A little language, but that's all

Disclaimer: I don't own any of the characters, cars or situations from Supernatural, but I sure wish I did. Anything you don't recognize is mine.

Author's Note: Please review whether like the story or not. Thanks to my beta, Sarah, I couldn't do this without her. And especially thanks to my reviewers, you don't know how happy you've made me!

* * *

Sam glanced at the clock on his laptop. It was after 7:00, but it seemed much later. An hour ago Dean had momentarily paused, in his mad race through the channels, on a local weather report. The weatherman had been right, a thunderstorm was imminent, and it was causing the sky outside their motel room window to be much darker than he expected. 

He continued scanning through the back issues of the local newspapers, hoping to find anything mentioning the death of a young boy. He had started with 1980 and was working his way back. The search would have gone much quicker if they could have both been thumbing through the actual archives, but after the fiasco at Katie's the day before, a low profile was in order. Because of that, Sam was sitting in the most uncomfortable chair ever made, hunched over his laptop, while Dean was stretched out on his bed, still channel surfing. How Sam always was stuck researching, he would never understand.

The sudden knock at the door startled both men. Exchanging looks of surprise, they rose in unison from their respective places. Dean reached under the pillow upon which he had been reclining and brought out his knife, then nodded his readiness for Sam to open the door. Placing his hand on the doorknob, Sam called out, "Who is it?"

"It's Katie Matthews," came the reply. Dean instantly dropped his defensive stance and replaced the knife. Sam opened the door and was greeted by both Katie and her niece standing underneath an umbrella. Both men could immediately tell something was wrong. Aside from the fact that the woman who had kicked them out of her house was standing on their proverbial doorstep, the girls didn't look the same. Katie was unnaturally pale, her face almost colorless, and her eyes wide with confusion. Lilly was literally clinging to her aunt, at least until the door opened fully and Dean came into view. She spotted him and let go of her aunt. She shot across the motel room and launched herself at him. Seventy pounds of girl hit him and latched onto him. If Katie hadn't looked so serious, Sam would have laughed at Dean's expression when Lilly wrapped her arms around his waist and buried her head in his side.

"Sorry about that," Katie finally said after a minute of silence. Dean had awkwardly returned Lilly's hug, patting her on the back softly. "She's a little freaked out. I'm a little freaked out. I'm sorry to barge in on you, especially with the way I acted yesterday, but I didn't know where else to go." Sam noticed that Katie was visibly shaking and shut the door behind her. He took her arm and led her further into the room, offering her the chair he had vacated. She took it, throwing him a grateful, albeit weak, smile. She took a deep breath and started to speak again, but was interrupted by Lilly.

"He's back, Mr. Dean. He came back and this time Aunt Katie saw him too," this statement was slightly muffled, since Lilly was still hiding her face. "He hurt Tommy." Her voice cracked a little, and she began to cry softly. Dean detached her arms from his waist, only to bend down and hug her properly. Gone was the awkwardness from before, and in its place was the strong older brother he always was.

"Hey, it's going to be okay. Why don't you tell me what happened?" he asked her, smoothing her hair as he did. Sam watched as the older man comforted the scared girl, much like Dean had comforted Sam when he was little. When it become evident Lilly wasn't ready to talk, Dean shifted his attention to Kate. She was slumped in her chair, eyes closed, hands at her temples. Sam placed a hand on her shoulder and squeezed. Katie's eyes opened and Dean saw the same expression in them that he had seen in Lilly's. Fear and disbelief. "What happened?" he repeated.

This time, Katie didn't blink before answering. "Lilly's class was having their picture taken, since it was the last day of school. They were outside the courthouse, right across the street from the shop. Right before the photographer took the picture, a concrete planter fell off the terrace from three stories above." She paused a moment, reaching into her purse as she did. She brought out a digital camera and turned it on. "Luckily," she continued, "one of the other teachers heard scraping and saw what was happening before it completely fell. The thing was huge; it could have easily killed someone. Still, one boy, Tommy, he had a really deep cut on his leg. They had to take him to the hospital for stitches."

"And you saw the little boy again, Lilly?" Sam asked her. She nodded in response, still silent after her initial outburst.

"The thing is, I was taking a picture at the same time the photographer was. And, well, see for yourself." She handed the camera to Sam. The viewer on the back of the camera was active, and Sam could see that a group of children were standing in front of an older building. Most of the kids were smiling, looking at the camera, but a couple, Lilly included, had their attention on something to their right. A boy, about ten years old it looked like, dressed in slacks and a button down shirt, was standing off to the side, looking up at the building. This in itself wouldn't have been abnormal, if it wasn't for the three bright orbs of light that were surrounding him. Spirits were known for showing on film in this way, unexplained balls of light that weren't visible to the naked eye. He handed the camera wordlessly to Dean, who took it. Lilly brought her head off Dean's shoulder momentarily to look at the picture as well.

"That's him," she said softly. "That's the boy that was in the toy store. The one I told you about."

"When ya'll told me about being ghost hunters, I honestly didn't know what to think," Katie stated. "Part of me thought you were up to no good, and the other part thought you were just plain crazy. But, I would swear on a stack of Bibles, that kid was not there when I took that picture. Which is impossible, because things like this aren't real. Right?" Her voice was strained when she finished speaking.

Lilly moved from Dean's embrace to climb on her aunt's lap. Katie quickly hugged her niece to her, as Lilly said, "They were right Aunt Katie, I think it's a ghost. He's see-through and that's not normal."

"Why?" came Katie's choked question. "Why would the ghost be after those kids? I don't understand how something like this could happen!" her voice dropped to a strangled whisper as she tried to rein in her emotions.

"Katie," Dean said calmly. When she didn't look at him, he moved closer to her and repeated, "Katie, look at me." She finally raised her gaze to meet his. "We're going to figure out what's going on and stop it," he reassured her. "I promise." He ran a hand over Lilly's hair. "I promise you too, munchkin."

Looking into Dean's hazel eyes, Katie felt oddly comforted. If what the men said was true about tracking these sorts of things, surely they would know how to fix this. She most certainly didn't know how to handle the last few days' events. As a matter of fact, she had the urge to act like her niece and get a hug from Dean. It appeared to have worked with Lilly and she had a feeling it would for her too.

Sam watched in awe as Dean calmed both girls by simply offering his assurance that they would stop the attacks. He would never admit it out loud, but he envied Dean his ability to provide relief in tough situations. Dean had been his emotional rock for so long, he occasionally took it for granted, until he saw his brother's affect on other people. Just like now, when he could almost see the load lift from Katie's shoulder. A little of the brightness was back in the smile Lilly gave him from her perch Katie's lap. This was a moment he would need to remember, to use on those days when he longed for a normal life and couldn't understand why his family had been chosen to carry out this task.

Katie suddenly frowned, noticing where they where. She finally broke the silence with an unexpected comment. "Why in the world are ya'll staying here?" She sounded tired, but not as terrified as she had been when they arrived. Both Sam and Dean looked around the dingy motel room at her statement. It looked like every other room they had called home for the last two years. The carpet could have optimistically been called pea green and a musty smell emanated from all the walls and the furniture. And neither man had even noticed this.

Dean shrugged his shoulders in response. "It was the cheapest in town," he answered. Katie raised an eyebrow to this. "Well, it is," he said defensively.

"It's also the crappiest," she added sarcastically.

"Speaking of that, how did you find us?" Sam broke in. "We're not registered under our names. Or the ones we gave you," he finished, rather sheepishly.

Katie brushed off this question as if it meant nothing. "Oh, please. It took me five minutes to find out where you were. It's not like two random guys hanging around town has gone unnoticed. I called a couple of people and found out you were staying here. Which reminds me," she paused for a minute, then blinked a couple of times. Dean knew that meant she was considering her next statement carefully. "I think, to be on the safe side, that ya'll should stay at my house from now."

The reactions from the boys to her suggestion were extremely different. Sam was obviously confused, but didn't appear to be resistant to the idea. On the other hand, Dean visibly bristled at the thought. "We don't need protection, we're supposed to be helping you," he protested.

"I know that," Katie began, "and I don't mean physical protection, but people around town have noticed you. And with everything that's been going on, especially with the accident today, folks will want to know why you're here. Since I saw through your story pretty quick, I'm sure someone else will eventually. You'll need a better cover." She moved Lilly, who had been listening to the conversation quietly, off her lap and stood up. "Which I have cleverly supplied you."

"Yeah?" Sam asked, ready to hear it. Knowing somehow that he and Dean would be staying elsewhere tonight, he handed Katie her umbrella and began to pack his duffle bag. Dean noticed this action and frowned at him. Sam shrugged and continued working.

"When I called the front desk here, Ted asked who you were. I told him you were a couple of friends of mine from college that were visiting me for a couple of days." She held out her hand to Lilly, who took it, and they headed towards the door.

"Wait a minute, what's that got to do with us staying at your house?" Dean asked.

Katie had the answer to this question ready. "Besides the fact that you'll get to stay in a place that's been cleaned since you were born," her nose wrinkled in disgust as she took in the condition of the room, "and you'll have a nice, comfortable bed to sleep in while you're getting rid of our ghost, no one will ask any questions if you're staying with me. It'll serve as the stamp of approval. And, no one is going to believe I'd let friends of mine stay here."

Sam laughed at her logic. It would make sense to stay in the house with the girls, especially since Lilly had been involved in two of the attacks so far. Being in closer contact with her could quite possibly save her if something else happened. And he knew that Dean realized all this, but his older brother didn't like to be told what to do. Even if the order was coming from a cute girl.

"Dean, it's a pretty good idea. We'll be able to keep an eye out for them too," Sam added. Dean rolled his eyes and began packing, his way of agreeing without having to actually say the words.

Lilly bounced a little as Katie started to open the door. Everything was going to be just fine, the girl thought. Mr. Sam and Mr. Dean were going to find that scary little boy and make him stop trying to hurt her and her friends. Plus, they were going to stay at Aunt Katie's house; that was even better. Her life would be back to normal by the time her mom and dad got home on Sunday.

As Katie walked to her car, she asked, "You remember where I live, right?"

"We remember," Dean answered. "And we'll be over in a few. We've got a few things to talk about first." Katie nodded and shut the door behind her. As she herded Lilly into the back seat, she heard through the thin door,

"Ow, what did you do that for?" Sam exclaimed. Katie laughed a little, fairly certain Sam had been on the receiving end of a brotherly punch. Even though she felt better about the situation than she had when they arrived, she still glanced all around the car before getting in. Better to be safe than sorry.


	8. Chapter 8

Title: The Boys Went Down to Georgia

Author: Razorbackgal0225

Rating: PG-13--A little language, but that's all

Disclaimer: I don't own any of the characters, cars or situations from Supernatural, but I sure wish I did. Anything you don't recognize is mine.

Author's Note: I've been trying to update pretty regularly, but that will probably not happen for awhile. I'm right in the middle of moving, so things are pretty hectic. But I promise, as soon as I get moved, I will get back to work on this full force. Thanks again to my reviewers!!

* * *

An hour later, Katie checked to see that Lilly was settled in, watching a movie. She was sitting on the couch, next to Sam, who was watching TV with one eye and his laptop with the other. He had volunteered to keep Lilly company, insisting that he was a huge fan of Toy Story and wanted to watch it again. Katie was extremely grateful to him and hoped she had conveyed that. It had been a long day and while she was worried about Lilly, it was nice to have a moment to sort out her own thoughts. Katie walked back to the kitchen from the living room, leaned up against the nearest wall and closed her eyes. 

"You okay?" Dean's deep voice interrupted her respite. She opened her eyes to see him gazing at her, a concerned expression on his handsome face. Not for the first time since this ordeal started, Katie wished she could have met Dean without immense drama being involved. Instead, she was standing in her kitchen trying to come to terms with the fact that a ghost was possibly haunting her nine-year old niece. She realized he was waiting on a response.

"I will be, eventually," she said. "Maybe. If I don't have a nervous breakdown first." She smiled slightly and then pushed herself off the wall. "I know one thing, I could definitely use a drink." She walked to the refrigerator, opened the door and removed a beer. "Can I get you anything?" she offered.

Dean followed her around the island. "I'd love a beer, if you've got another one." She handed him the bottle she had in her hand and retrieved another from the refrigerator. She grabbed a towel from the counter, twisted off the cap and took a long drink.

"So," she asked after putting her bottle down. "Do you really think there's a ghost after Lilly?"

Dean shrugged his shoulders as he responded, "Could be. I seriously doubt that whatever it is is targeting Lilly, though, since other kids have been attacked. From what you said, that planter could have taken out any number of the kids lined up for that photo."

Katie breathed a sigh of relief. "I know this sounds weird, but that actually makes me feel a little better. To know that you think it's not after Lilly. I couldn't imagine what Lill could have done to get a ghost mad at her."

Dean took a swig from his beer, and then commented, "A lot of times, it's not anything the person has done. It's more of what the ghost thinks they've done. You see, spirits will only see what they want to see. Something could have happened to the person when they were alive involving a kid, and now every kid they encounter is _that_ kid, no matter what the reality is."

"Kind of guilt by association," Katie said. He nodded in agreement. "So, what happens now?"

"Sam," he gestured back towards the living room with his beer, "is searching through old newspaper articles, looking for anything involving the death of a ten or so year old boy. Once we find out who the ghost is, we'll decide where to go from there."

To this, Katie frowned slightly. "Sam had his computer out when we got to your motel room. Was he researching then, too?"

"Yeah," Dean replied, unsure of why she was asking.

"Is that normal? He does all the research and you get to drink beer and socialize?" she smiled crookedly at him as she asked. He realized she was joking with him, probably trying to lighten the mood. This was a concept he could understand.

Katie willed herself not to react to the killer grin Dean gave her before he took another drink from his bottle. The smile was still there when he answered her. "Sam's the geeky, freakishly tall one in the family. I'm the charming, good-looking one." She laughed out loud at this comment. "What, you don't believe me?" He managed to look slightly offended.

"Well, Sam is tall," she answered. "I'll give you that. But it's not as if he's unattractive or anything." She paused a moment and then an expression on enlightenment appeared on her face. "Wait a minute, you're the older brother, aren't you?"

Dean grimaced slightly. "He's been bad-mouthing me again, hasn't he?"

Katie chuckled a little before replying. "No, we just talked about being the youngest when ya'll were here the other day." She smiled at him again before finishing. "A lot of things make more sense now." She took another drink of her beer. Then it happened. What she had been trying to avoid since Wednesday.

Her eyes met Dean's over her bottle. She tried to concentrate on swallowing properly, and not the fact that Dean had beautiful hazel eyes ringed by lashes of a decidedly un-masculine length. Or the fact that those same eyes were causing butterflies that had long been dormant to begin fluttering around in her stomach. She mentally scolded herself for even allowing such thoughts to enter her mind with all the chaos going on. These men were tracking a ghost, for heaven's sake, not auditioning for the next 'Bachelor.' A creepy kid was possibly haunting her niece; she should not be worried about whether her hair looked good or if her mascara was running. For all she knew, Dean was looking at her like that because she had something in her hair again, not because he liked her or anything.

"Hey, I think I found something," Sam interrupted, breaking the spell cast over the room. Katie smiled at him gratefully, causing Sam to wonder what he had walked into. He was carrying his laptop and sat it down on the counter between Dean and Katie.

"What've you got?" Dean asked. He too was thankful for his little brother disrupting the serious moment he thought Katie and he were sharing. This was not the time to decide he might like a girl, and Katie wasn't the love 'em and leave 'em type, he could tell. He turned his attention back to the job.

"Jacob Smith," Sam said, pointed to the newspaper article displayed on the computer screen. Katie's sudden intake of breath answered what would have been Sam's first question. She did recognize the boy pictured in the story as the same one she had photographed with Lilly's class.

"Oh my God, it's him," she whispered. She reached out, as if to touch the picture, but froze before completing the move. She pulled her hand back towards her body, almost protectively. Up until now, she had held out hope that this mess would have a reasonable explanation. Unfortunately this article proved that wasn't the case. This was really happening.

Sam continued summarizing the story. "Jacob was 10 years old when he died in 1975. He was found beat to death at the orphanage he was living in." He checked the article again. "Hilltop Orphanage. The police investigated but never found out who did it. They suspected the guy who ran the place, Tom Bennett, but he had an alibi for when Jacob died."

Katie skimmed the article while Sam and Dean continued discussing the case. "So we need to find where this Jacob kid is buried," Dean decided.

"Story says Jacob was cremated. Since he was an orphan, there was no one to claim the body or do anything with his remains." Sam countered.

Dean rolled his eyes and shifted his weight in frustration. "Great, so how is this kid haunting people if his remains are gone?"

Before Sam could answer, Katie exclaimed, "Hey, I know where this is." She pointed at a particular line in the story that gave the location of the orphanage. "It says the orphanage was in Banks Crossing off Rural Route 3. That's where Myer's Petting Zoo is now. That place had been abandoned for years before Mr. Myer's moved in and opened up the zoo."

Dean and Sam exchanged knowing looks. "How long ago did it open?" Sam asked.

Katie thought for a moment before answering, "I'd say about a month and a half ago. It couldn't have been much more than that. I remember, because we sent Mr. Myer's a flower basket as a 'Welcome to the Community' gift."

"Which would have been around the same time that the first attack happened, right?" Sam was trying to remember the original article that had caused their trip to Commerce. Katie nodded in response.

The older Winchester snapped his fingers as an idea came to him. "Didn't Lilly go to the zoo on a class trip awhile back? That's where the goat got after that girl she doesn't like."

Katie smiled a little, surprised that Dean remembered the story Lilly had told him during their first visit. She nodded affirmatively. "Yeah, last week. I think almost all the grade school classes went at one point." Her eyes grew wide. "You think the opening of the zoo somehow stirred up Jacob's ghost?"

"It's a possibility," Sam agreed with her. "We should check out the zoo," he said, mainly to Dean. "Can you tell us how to get there?" he asked Katie.

"I've got a better idea," she said, "if you wait until tomorrow to go, I can show you how to get there. I know the zoo is closed on Saturdays and Lilly has her standing play-date at Casey's house. We can go tomorrow afternoon." She was surprised when both men shook their heads at this suggestion. "What, I don't get to go?"

"No," both men answered together. Dean's response was slightly more adamant than Sam's.

"Why not?" She asked. "It's my niece that's in danger and this is my town this is happening to. Besides," she placed her hands on her hips, "you'll never find the place if I don't go with you. Banks Crossing is seriously out in the boondocks."

Sam glanced at Dean and could tell he wasn't convinced. "Katie, we know you want to help, but it would be safer for you to stay here," he told her, his voice soft and compelling.

This time it was Katie who was determined. "No, I want to go. I'll do whatever you tell me to, if you want me to stay in the car, I will."

Dean sighed out loud. Sam ran his hand through his hair, and then looked at his brother. When Katie saw they were still deciding, she added, "Please? I really want to know what's going on."

"Okay," Dean relented, hesitantly. "But only if you stay in the car and if anything happens, you'll leave when we tell you to."

Katie backed away from the computer and headed towards the living room. "I will, I promise. After I get Lilly upstairs and getting ready for bed, I'll make up ya'll's beds. One of you can have the guest room and the other can have the sofa bed." She walked through the door and back to where Lilly was watching TV.

Sam waited until she was out of sight before whispering to Dean, "Do you really think we should let her go with us? You know it might not be safe for her."

Dean shrugged and took his final drink of beer. "Couldn't you tell that she wasn't going to give up? If she stays with us, she'll be fine. And I don't want to get lost out in middle of nowhere."

Sam narrowed his eyes and then grinned at his brother. "You like her, don't you?"

"Oh, shut up," Dean muttered as he threw his bottle in the trash. "I'll take the sofa bed, you freakin' giant."


	9. Chapter 9

Title: The Boys Went Down to Georgia

Author: Razorbackgal0225

Rating: PG-13--A little language, but that's all

Disclaimer: I don't own any of the characters, cars or situations from Supernatural, but I sure wish I did. Anything you don't recognize is mine.

Author's Note: This chapter is a little short, but it sets up more action in later chapters. And there's a little eye candy enjoyance!Thanks to my reviewers, you don't know how happy you've made me!

* * *

Sam could hear Katie talking softly as he walked down the stairs. It sounded as if she were on the phone. He waited quietly on the landing to determine if he should interrupt or head back to the guest room. 

"Alright, Manda, let me know if you get an earlier flight. I will. I love you too, bye," Katie hung up the phone from talking to her sister. She had told Amanda everything that had happened, including her decision to involve Sam and Dean again. Her sister had been angry at first, so much so that her husband had taken the phone away from her to talk to Katie. Alex had been surprisingly understanding of the whole situation, especially the otherworldly aspect of the story. When Katie had shared all the information she had, Alex had agreed she had made the right call finding the two men to help her. This filled Katie with relief. She had been terrified that her fear and uncertainly had caused her to place too much trust in the comparative strangers and having her brother-in-law's support was nice to hear.

Amanda had finally returned to the phone, telling Katie that she would be checking with the airline to try and book an earlier return flight than the one they currently hard. Amanda and Alex were supposed to be back in Atlanta late Sunday night, but were trying to find tickets for a day earlier. Katie understood her sister's reaction and hoped they found an earlier flight.

Sam heard Katie hang up the phone in the kitchen and finished coming down the stairs. He saw her leaning over the island. Her elbows were propped up on the counter and her face was hidden in her hands. Sam realized how calmly she had taken everything that had happened in the last two days and wondered if that hadn't been an act and if she was to crack. He wouldn't blame her a bit if she did; the things he and Dean saw on a daily basis would drive a normal person insane. Before he could slowly back out of the room, to leave her in peace, she shook her head, and straightened herself. She turned and spotted him.

"Hey," she greeted him softly.

"Hey," he answered.

"Is everything alright, do you need anything?" she asked, remembering she needed to be a good Southern hostess.

Sam nodded quickly. "Everything's fine. I was going to hop in the shower, I wanted to make sure that was okay."

Katie smiled. "Oh, sure! I'm sorry, I should have gotten you a towel and everything. I'll get that stuff for you." She headed up the stairs. "I need to get sheets and a blanket for Dean, too." She sighed loudly as Sam followed her. "I think these last couple of days are starting to get to me, I'm forgetting what I'm supposed to be doing." She reached the top of the stairs and went to the linen closet next the guest bathroom. As she opened the door, Sam put a reassuring hand on her arm.

"Hey, you're doing great. Most people would have completely lost it when they saw that picture," Sam said. He smiled at her. "I think you're handling this whole situation remarkably well."

Katie let out a breath so hard she almost snorted. "Thanks. So, ya'll see this type of thing a lot?" she asked as she took towels and a set of sheets off one of the shelves. "I mean, is that what ya'll do for a living?" She had a strong suspicion that if she wanted any information about the boys' past or their 'jobs' that she would have to get it from Sam. Dean didn't seem like the sharing type.

Sam leaned one shoulder against the wall and folded his arms across his chest. "I guess you could say that. We kind of…inherited the business from our dad. He hunted demons, ghosts, whatever he could find."

Katie shut the door to the closet and faced Sam. She had caught that he had referred to his father in past tense, so her next question was more of a statement. "Your dad passed away?" The expression of sorrow that came over Sam's face was enough to make her wish her words back. "I'm sorry, I'm being nosey and it's none of my business." She walked by Sam into the guest bathroom, sitting the towels on the sink counter.

"It's okay," Sam answered, his voice a little tighter than before. "He died a couple of months ago. It's just been Dean and me since then. And I don't mind you asking questions."

She smiled at him sadly as she started to walk out of the room. She couldn't imagine losing a parent and was thankful she had never had to experience that. Both of her parents were such an important part of her life, not having them around was something she couldn't even fathom. She guessed, since he hadn't mentioned his mother, that she had died as well. She decided she had delved into the boys' personal lives enough for one night. "I'm sorry about your dad," she said as she left the bathroom.

"Thanks," Sam replied, as she shut the door. Katie heard the shower start as she checked on Lilly, before going back down stairs. Carting the sheets with her, she wandered into the living room, where Dean was planning on sleeping. And she almost dropped what she was carrying.

Katie didn't consider herself a prude by any means, but she was a little shocked to walk into her living room and see a shirtless man standing next to her sofa. Her first thought was to check and make sure the blinds were closed. There was no doubt the rumor mill would be on high alert if anyone spotted Dean, sans half his clothing, in her house. Once she saw, to her relief, that the blinds were shut, she allowed herself to stand back and gaze wistfully on the sight before her. Dean had his back turned to her and was rummaging through his duffle bag. She admired the play of his muscles under his smooth, tan back as he reached into his bag, pulling out a t-shirt. He wasn't bulky, like some of the guys in town that lifted weights every day just to get a little bigger. Instead, his body was toned, the result of on-the-job training, she guessed. Chasing after demons had to be hard work. As Katie continued to stare, she shifted her weight slightly to get more comfortable. Unfortunately, this move caused her elbow to catch on a book lying on a shelf next to her. Which knocked the book off the shelf. Which crashed to the floor with a loud noise. Which caused Dean to turn quickly and catch her gawking.

Katie felt the blush spread from her neck up to the crown of her head. She tried to pretend she had only been in the doorway for a moment. At least, that's what she hoped he believed. "I brought down some sheets for you."

"Thanks," he said, turning to face her. She knew she was blushing even brighter now that she was faced with his bare chest. She focused her attention on an interesting spot on the wall to his right and willed her heart rate to slow down. "You didn't have to do that," he commented. "The couch by itself would have been fine."

"Don't be ridiculous!" she exclaimed as she starting removing the cushions on the couch to get to the foldout bed. "That's why I got this couch, so that I would always have plenty of room for company." Working quickly to take her mind off her embarrassment, she unfolded the sheets and starting making the bed. Oh, please don't let him have noticed me staring, she thought to herself. And please don't let him be looking at me when I look up. Unfortunately, he was.

Dean couldn't help but be a little proud. He had caught Katie full on ogling him. And while this happened occasionally, more since his brother had started traveling with him, damn it, it had been a long time since a girl had blushed in front of him. He found it charming and refreshing. Most of the girls he became 'involved' with would not have been even close to embarrassed by this situation. Yet another checkmark in the 'She's Not That Kind of Girl' column that he had started the day before. But, being Dean, he couldn't help but have a little fun.

Katie was startled when Dean began to help her with the fitted sheet she was wrestling on the mattress. When she glanced up to thank him, she was greeted with a still naked upper body and a smug grin. She knew she had been caught, so she decided to make the best of it.

"You're enjoying this, aren't you?" she asked, her voice slightly sarcastic.

"A little bit," he replied, the smug grin changing into a full-blown smile. Katie couldn't help but smile back.

"I guess I deserve it," she admitted as she grabbed the second sheet and unfolded it. "I was pretty rough on ya'll yesterday."

Dean chuckled softly. "A little rough?" he said. "I've had nicer run-ins with hateful spirits."

Katie rolled her eyes and replied, "Oh, whatever. You have to admit, you would have been suspicious too, if you found out a couple of random guys had lied to you about being private investigators. And on top of that said they were hunting a ghost." She finished smoothing out the sheets and turned to grab the pillows she had brought down earlier.

Dean slipped on a t-shirt, finally removing Katie's main distraction from the conversation. She didn't know whether to be relieved or remorseful. "Not if they would have been as ruggedly handsome as me," he countered, throwing her that lady-killer grin again.

She laughed aloud as she placed the pillows on the now-made bed. "You should see someone about that self-esteem problem, you know. That could become debilitating."

"I know," he answered. "It's my one flaw."

"Well, Mr. Practically Perfect in Everyway, I have to warn you. Lilly will come bounding down here at approximately eight in the morning, so you'd better be prepared to watch Saturday morning shows," Katie said as she headed out of the living room. "I hope you didn't want to sleep in that late." She turned before disappearing into the other room. "I really am sorry about yelling at you yesterday."

"No problem," Dean answered. "You can make it up to me with waffles in the morning."

"Oh, good Lord, what have I gotten myself into?" Katie muttered as she walked up the stairs.


	10. Chapter 10

Title: The Boys Went Down to Georgia

Author: Razorbackgal0225

Rating: PG-13--A little language, but that's all

Disclaimer: I don't own any of the characters, cars or situations from Supernatural, but I sure wish I did. Anything you don't recognize is mine.

Author's Note: I apologize for taking so long to update. Real life intruded on my writing time, with moving and work taking up all my days lately. But hopefully I'll be back on schedule now. Thanks again to everyone who has reviewed, I hope you're not disappointed by this update. Let me know what you think!

* * *

Dean woke up suddenly, knowing instantly that someone was in the room with him. He opened the eye that wasn't hidden in the pillow on which he was laying and was met by a brown-eyed gaze. Lilly was perched on the side of the sofa bed next to Dean, watching him with a grin on her face. He was thankful that he had chosen a t-shirt and boxers shorts for pajamas the night before, or he could have given the nine-year old an eyeful. 

"What's up, munchkin?" he asked, his voice gravelly from sleep. He propped himself up on his elbows to met Lilly's stare.

"It's Saturday morning and it's almost time for Hannah Montana to come on," she answered folding herself further onto the bed, closer to Dean. She was also still in her pajamas, but her hair had been brushed and she was drinking a glass of milk.

"I have no idea what you just said."

Lilly's eyes went wide with shock. "You don't know who Hannah Montana is?" she asked incredulously.

"Lilly, I'm a grown man, I haven't watched Saturday morning cartoons since Bugs Bunny was on. Now that was quality television," Dean answered. Lilly produced the remote out of nowhere and turned on the TV. Dean flinched at the sudden addition of music into the otherwise quiet room. He briefly considered hiding his head under a pillow, but instead asked, "Um, what are you doing?"

"Watching Hannah Montana," Lilly announced, with a confused expression on her face. "Hannah's the bomb," she said, moving to sit next to Dean as she began to watch. "You'll like her."

That's how Sam found them a few minutes later; Lilly was leaning against Dean, who was watching the TV with a puzzled expression on his face. When Sam was far enough into the room to see the screen, he started to laugh. His rough and tough big brother was watching a teenybopper Saturday morning show, complete with singing girls. With a nine-year-old. Dean shot Sam an icy look.

"Good morning, Mr. Sam," Lilly said sweetly.

"Morning Lilly. What are you watching?"

"Hannah Montana. She's my favorite," she explained. She glanced up at Dean, who was still staring at the TV. "I think Mr. Dean likes her too."

"It's the Achy-Breaky-Heart guy," Dean said, mostly to himself. "If he can be an actor, I'm moving to Hollywood tomorrow." He saw that Sam was still laughing at him, so he gently nudged Lilly. "I'm going to go get some breakfast, alright?" he asked. He reached and found a pair of jeans that he quickly pulled on. He smiled at his brother. "But Sam happens to love Hannah Montana and would be glad to watch with you. He's even has her CD," he volunteered. Before Sam could voice a protest, Lilly had grabbed his hand and was tugging him down to the mattress. Dean chuckled evilly as he left the room. That would teach Sammy to laugh at him.

He walked into the kitchen and was grateful to smell coffee brewing. He opened a couple of cabinets before finding a mug. As he was filling his cup, Katie came sprinting down the stairs. He noticed she was dressed up, wearing a skirt and nice sweater, and was carrying a pair of high-heeled sandals.

"Shit, shit, shit," she muttered under her breath. She stopped abruptly when she saw Dean standing in the kitchen. "Sorry," she apologized. "I'm running a little late."

"For what?" Dean asked, continuing to sip his coffee.

"The Newman/Ross wedding, otherwise known as the psycho bride from hell's wedding," Katie answered. "I'm not sure why, but Jenny is under the impression that I need to at the church two hours before the wedding starts. Even though the wedding coordinator picked up all the flowers and arrangements yesterday. God, I can't stand her."

Dean gazed at her as if she had grown another head. Even though he didn't know the first thing about weddings, he still offered, "Sorry."

"It's not your fault," she said, smiling ruefully. "It comes with the job. Just like ghost boys and who knows what else goes along with your job."

"So, I guess no waffles," Dean joked. The glare Katie gave him was answer enough. "Okay, no waffles."

"And I've got to get Lilly to my cousin's house before I go to the church." She slipped one of the shoes she had in her hand as she reached for her keys. "Lilly, come on!" she shouted into the living room.

Dean was quiet for a moment before he processed what Katie had said. "Wait a minute," he interrupted, "why don't you leave Lilly with Sam and me? We can watch her for a couple of hours, if that's all you'll be gone."

Katie paused in her movements to stare at Dean, taking the time to put on her other shoe. Dean tried to not notice her legs. "Seriously, you wouldn't mind? I mean, Lilly can be a handful when she wants to be."

He shrugged in response as if brushing off her protests. "We'll be fine. I've gone up against a wendigo before, I think I can handle a nine-year-old girl," he assured her, a slight bit of sarcasm sneaking into his voice.

Katie frowned in confusion. "What's a wendigo?" Before he could reply, she held up her hand, stopping him. "You know what, never mind. I probably don't want to know and like I said, I'm late." She grabbed her purse and tucked it under her arm. She then walked into the living room, Dean following her. She shook her head at the scene that greeted her, much like Sam had when he had entered the living room earlier.

Lilly was singing along softly to the song on television, head propped up on Sam's arm. Sam didn't seem to mind, and Katie realized that her niece had managed to charm both men in less than two days. If only she had the same talent.

"Hey, Lill, I'm going to Miss Jenny's wedding. Mr. Sam and Mr. Dean are going to stay here with you while I'm gone. They're in charge, so you do whatever they tell you to." Lilly was nodding and grinning. "I'm serious Lilly, no funny business while I'm gone. I'll be back in a couple of hours."

Sam tugged a few strands of Lilly's hair, causing her to giggle. "No problem, I'm sure we'll be fine." Katie still looked a little hesitant, but she shook it off, dropping a kiss on Lilly's forehead.

"Alright, I'll be back as soon as the wedding's over. Help yourself to whatever you want in the kitchen," she called over her shoulder as she walked out the front door. Dean watched out the window until Katie was in her car and driving down the road before he walked to the TV and turned it off.

"Hey, what are you doing?" Lilly cried. "Hannah's not over with yet!"

"Listen munchkin, I know you like that stuff, but I'm going to teach you about real music." He reached into his duffle bag and pulled out a handful of cassette tapes. "Trust me," he added when he saw the disappointed look on Lilly's face, "one day, when you're trying to impress some boy, you'll thank me."

Half an hour later, Sam was sitting on the refolded couch, laptop resting on his knees, but he wasn't looking at the screen. Instead, he was watching his brother and Lilly and laughing at their antics. Lilly was playing air guitar, bouncing around in circles to the AC/DC song that was coming from the speakers. Dean was drumming along on the table next to him and doing his best Brian Johnson imitation.

"This is great Mr. Dean!" Lilly shouted over the loud music. "AC/DC rocks!" she said, holding up the 'rock on' hand signal Dean had taught her earlier. Sam wondered just exactly how happy Lilly's parents would be to know that their daughter had learned the finer points of mullet rock while they were in London.

Dean grinned at the little girl, borderline proud at how quickly she had taken to his music. Occasionally, and he would certainly never admit it, he was saddened by the thought of not having the chance to pass on his wealth of knowledge and extreme good taste to another generation. Of course, these ideas only came after a long night of drinking when the girls at the bar weren't pretty enough to hit on. And he would never say these things out loud, for fear of sounding like Sam. But right now, he wasn't feeling that way. Right now, he wasn't dwelling on the hellacious order his father had given him right before trading his own life for Dean's. He wasn't considering the war that he knew was coming. Instead, he was contributing to a minor, while his brother smiled approvingly from the couch.

As the song wound down, Lilly paused momentarily in her dancing, catching her breath. Mr. Dean and Mr. Sam were way better babysitters than her cousin Laura ever thought about being. She was having so much fun with them that she almost didn't see what was going on outside. She was about to try and convince Mr. Sam to dance with her when she saw a little boy ride by on his Big Wheel outside. This wasn't unusual; little Joey Sanders from across the street rode it on all the sidewalks around the neighborhood, normally with this puppy trailing along behind him. This time, it wasn't his puppy that was following him. Lilly froze in front of the window, as she recognized the boy that was tracking Joey as the ghost boy.

Sam and Dean noticed Lilly's sudden loss of motion at the same time. Sam quickly set his laptop on the couch and walked to her. "Lilly, what's wrong?" She looked up at him, her big brown eyes filled with tears and pointed out the window.

"It's that boy, and he's going after Joey!" she exclaimed in a scared voice. Sam followed her hand and could see the little boy on the Big Wheel and the same kid from the photo that Katie had taken the day before. He threw a frustrated glance at Dean, who was already out of his chair and grabbing a gun from his duffle bag.

"Sam, stay here with Lilly. I'll go get him," Dean ordered as he headed to the front door. Sam and Lilly were on his heels, but stayed inside as he went out on the porch.

Dean placed his gun in the waistband of his jeans and pulled his t-shirt down to cover it. There was no need in having the neighbors reporting someone toting a gun chasing after a small boy. He quickly made his way down the street, keeping a close eye on Joey and the ghost Jacob. The ghost didn't appear to be bothering anything, just following the boy, but Dean knew that could change at any minute. He crossed the street so that he was on the same sidewalk as the pair.

In the house, Sam held Lilly tight against him as they watched Dean trail after the boys. He was poised and ready to help his brother if he needed it, but he was also prepared to get Lilly out of the line of fire, if it came to that. Lilly, trembling slightly, was silent, taking in the scene.

As Dean crept closer and closer to the ghost, he heard a car approaching. Thinking nothing of it, being that he was in a suburban neighborhood, he never took his attention from Jacob. But when the sound of the car grew louder, his eyes left the ghost. A black Ford Escort was cruising down the street at a much higher rate of speed than normal on a 20 mile an hour road. And if he wasn't mistaken, which he normally wasn't in these situations, the car was headed straight for the little boy.

Sam realized the path the car was going to take at the same time that Dean did. Not wanting to scar Lilly if the worst happened, he picked her up and moved into the kitchen away from the door. Lilly squealed, not happy with leaving. "Wait, what about Mr. Dean and Joey?" she cried. When they were safely into the kitchen, Sam put Lilly down and squatted in front of her so that he could meet her eye.

"Lilly, I need you to promise to stay in here for a minute, okay? Don't come to the front door until I say so," Sam voice was gentle but firm. When she didn't respond right away, he reiterated, "Lilly, seriously, I don't want you to come to the door." The little girl finally nodded, and Sam brushed her bangs back out of her eyes. "Okay, I'll be right back."

In the time that Dean had taken to glance up at the car bearing down on Joey, Jacob had disappeared. Swearing under his breath, Dean ran towards the little boy and his Big Wheel as fast as he could. Joey had realized the car was headed for him and had frozen on the sidewalk. This helped Dean gain on him, enough that he had a full three seconds to scoop Joey out of his toy car and tumble into the adjacent yard before the car hit the sidewalk. The tire of the Escort clipped the Big Wheel, smashing the plastic into a countless number of bits. The car then swerved back onto the street and speed around the corner.

"Joey!" a woman yelled from the yard next to where the boy and Dean lay. "Joey!" she shouted again.

Dean rolled over with his arms still protecting the little boy. Joey was whimpering quietly and Dean saw that he was starting to cry. He also noticed out of the corner of his eye that Sam was rushing across to the street towards him. His brother reached the two at the same time the woman from next door.

"Joey, oh my God, are you okay?" the woman asked, falling to her knees next to them. Joey immediately threw himself at her, startng to cry in earnest. She held him to her and rocked him gently, then met Dean's eyes. "Thank you so much, I don't even know what to say."

"Don't mention it," he said as he got up off the ground. "I just happened to be outside at the right time."

Sam offered his hand to the woman who took, still holding Joey to her chest. "Is he alright?" he asked quietly.

The woman nodded. "I think so." She pulled Joey away from her for a moment. "Joey, sweetie, are you alright?" When she received a nod in return, she answered, "He's pretty good about telling me when he's hurt. I think he just had a good scare." She turned to Dean and said again, "I can't thank you enough. I saw him out the window but I would have never made it to him in time." An angry look grew on her face as she muttered, "And if those damn teenagers don't learn how to slow down and get off their cellphones, someone's going to get hurt."

"No problem," Dean repeated. "I'm glad he okay." He patted Joey on the back. "You be careful there, Junior." He then started back across the street. Sam smiled at Joey and his mother before following his brother.

Once they were out of earshot, Sam commented, "Okay, that was strange." The boys had reached Katie's porch again. "I've never seen anything like that happen."

Dean opened the door and entered the house. "You're telling me. This job is buckets of weird. Jacob is escalating pretty quickly if he's using other people to go after kids now, because that car was making a beeline for Joey. And I noticed Jacob conveniently disappeared right before the car hit the sidewalk."

Sam agreed hesitantly. "I guess, although…" he paused, remembering the little girl he had left in the kitchen. What he had to say could wait until they had checked on her. "Lilly, you can come out now."

Two seconds later, Lilly charged out of the kitchen and hurled herself at Dean. He luckily was paying attention and caught her. "Hey, munchkin, everything's alright," he said soothingly, stroking her hair as he did. "Joey's fine, he's just scared. Kind of like you were when that shelf tried to fall on you."

Lilly gazed up at Dean with adoring eyes. "You're like Superman, Mr. Dean. You saved Joey from the ghost."

Dean laughed a little and Sam thought he looked a little embarrassed by Lilly's comment. "I don't know about that," Dean answered. He picked Lilly up and carried her back into the living room. "Maybe Batman, he was cooler than Superman. And he had better tools."

Sam smiled in amazement at how much his brother had taken to Lilly. His amused expression changed to one of confusion as he recalled the events that had just occurred. Dean was right, this case was full on weird. Something was off, but Sam couldn't quite but his finger on it. As Lilly's classic rock lesson recommenced, Sam wondered if maybe there was more to this case than just a standard haunting. He rejoined Lilly and Dean in the living room, hoping Lilly's hero worship didn't increase the size of his ego. The Impala didn't have that much extra room available.


	11. Chapter 11

Title: The Boys Went Down to Georgia

Author: Razorbackgal0225

Rating: PG-13--A little language, but that's all

Disclaimer: I don't own any of the characters, cars or situations from Supernatural, but I sure wish I did. Anything you don't recognize is mine.

Author's Note: As always, thanks to my reviewers. And please, if you do read, drop me a line! I love hearing what people are thinking, whether you are liking the story or not. Or if you have suggestions. Or if you have an extra Dean laying around )

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"Lilly, I'm back," Katie called as she entered her house. She immediately kicked off her shoes and threw her purse on the nearest chair. Jenny's wedding had been exhausting, since the bride had insisted that Katie redo one of the bridesmaid's bouquets at the last minute. Katie had been forced to rush down the block to the church in her terribly uncomfortable but stylish sandals. All in a day's work, she tried to convince herself. Sighing loudly, she walked into the dining room. 

"Hi Aunt Katie," Lilly greeted her, a smile on her face. She waved the spoon she was using to eat at her aunt. "How was the wedding?"

"It was fine," Katie replied and then noticed what Lilly was doing. "What are you eating, sweetie? And where are Mr. Sam and Mr. Dean?"

"Ice cream and in the living room," Lilly dug back into her bowl. "They are re-search-ing." She carefully pronounced the word that Mr. Sam had taught her when she had asked what he was doing with his computer.

Katie frowned at her niece, apparently unhappy with at least one of the answers she had received. "You're eating ice cream? Before lunch?"

Lilly nodded enthusiastically. "Mr. Dean said it was my reward for helping. And for being a good student."

"Being a good student," Katie repeated slowly. "Okay, I'm going to go talk to Mr. Dean. I don't think you need to eat any more ice cream, no matter who gave it to you. You still need to eat lunch." She turned and headed into the next room. Katie saw Sam sitting on her couch, tapping away on the keyboard of his laptop. Dean was lounging in the armchair next to him, drinking a can of Dr Pepper.

"So, Jacob took control of the car, what's so hard to believe about that?" Dean was asking as she moved into their eyesight. Dean smiled at her, then stopped when he saw the annoyed look on her face. He knew there were any number of things she could be upset about, but until he found out which one was causing the problem, he wasn't going to admit to anything. So he ignored the issue and went back to talking to Sam. "It's pretty obvious that's what happened considering what we saw before the accident."

"You think he just took over a car driven by a person?" Sam countered. "Since when does that happen? Hi Katie," he said finally.

"Hi. Why is Lilly eating ice cream?" she immediately asked. "And before lunch? You know, it's not a good idea to let kids eat dessert before the actual meal." Dean ran his hand through his short brown hair, a gesture Katie was beginning to recognize as one of frustration. "What's wrong?" she questioned.

"Um, nothing's wrong," Sam answered. "There was just a little…incident while you were gone."

Katie's eyebrows shot up. "Incident?" she exclaimed. "What kind of incident? With Lilly? Is that why she's eating ice cream?"

Dean stood and walked to her, looking upset. "Listen, everything's alright." He glanced back at his brother who gave a small nod. Dean turned back to her and continued, "Lilly spotted Jacob outside. He was following the little kid across the street."

Katie gasped and covered her mouth with her hand, obviously shocked by the news. After a minute, she removed her hand and inquired quietly, "Is he alright?"

Sam quickly reassured her, "He's fine, everyone's fine. Dean got to him before anything happened. We're just concerned, since the attacks keep getting worse. This time a car was involved."

Thankfully, Katie was standing next to a chair, because she dropped like a rock at this revelation. "A car? Oh my God, what's next?" She dropped her head into her hands and was still for a moment. Dean looked at Sam, completely lost as to what to do. Then came another question, "Did Lilly see it?"

"No," Dean said. "Sam made sure she was out of sight before anything would have happened." He knelt down beside her, still unsure of how to comfort her. "That's why it's important that we go to the petting zoo today. We really need to figure out what's going on and put a stop to it." Katie sniffled faintly and Dean realized she was crying. He reached up and put a strong hand on her shoulder. When she met his gaze, Dean saw that she wasn't crying, but that her eyes had filled with tears. His jaw clenched reflexively and he was overcome with the need to fix whatever was wrong. "Katie, we'll get this thing. I know we will."

Katie sighed and nodded. Dean squeezed her shoulder before moving away from her. She wiped her eyes and straightened her shoulders. "Right, petting zoo." She stood from the chair. Then she seemed to remember something. "Wait," she stated, "that doesn't explain the ice cream."

Sam coughed noisily, trying unsuccessfully to disguise his 'I told you so' that he directed towards Dean. After throwing his brother a death glare, Dean began, "Well, we…"

"Not we, you, Dean. This was you," Sam interrupted.

"Yes, thank you Sam," Dean replied. "I," with emphasis, "thought that Lilly deserved a reward for seeing Jacob and warning us that something was going down. She might have saved that little boy's life."

Katie frowned slightly. "Oh. Well, in the future, I try to not feed her sweets at 11:00 in the morning." She started to leave the room. "I'll get lunch ready and after that I'll take you to the petting zoo."

"Oh and Katie," Sam called as she walked away, "he also did it because she got all the words right to a Def Leopard song."

"Bitch!" Katie heard Dean muttered as she got into the kitchen.

"Jerk," was Sam's response.

Momentarily forgetting about the ghost that was terrorizing the children, Katie rolled her eyes. "Boys," she muttered under her breath as she began making sandwiches.

About an hour later, Lilly was fed, dressed and ready to go to her best friend's house for the afternoon. Which meant that Katie was ready to go on her first ghost hunt. As Lilly skipped up the sidewalk to Casey's front door, Katie tried for the fiftieth time to slow her heart rate. She was incredibly nervous about where they were going, especially with what Sam and Dean had told her about the latest accident. Part of her hoped they found whatever it was that was causing all the problems, but the other part of her was scared to death they would find something. That would eliminate any remaining doubt she had that this wasn't a haunting, that a ghost child wasn't attacking the kids in her hometown. She shifted in the Impala's back seat, trying to get comfortable. Sam and Dean were quiet as they drove, heading in the direction of the petting zoo five miles out of town. She watched the familiar scenery pass by and suddenly remembered the information she had learned at Jenny's wedding.

"Hey," she leaned forward slightly, her brown head appearing between two sets of wide shoulders. "I found out something while I was at the wedding. I talked to my friend Sarah. She knows practically everything that has ever happened in Commerce since time began. She remembered the story about Jacob."

Sam turned in the front seat to face her. "What did she have to say?"

"She said that a lot of people in town originally thought that Tom Bennett, the man who ran the orphanage, killed Jacob. But, after the investigation ended and people talked to Tom, it was pretty obvious he didn't have anything to do with. Sarah's mom told her that he was really tore up over it. Actually, he was so upset that he quit running the orphanage, which is why it closed down right after Jacob's death. And…" she drawled out, "she also knew that Mr. Bennett ended up moving to Watkinsville, which is about an hour from here."

"Thanks, Katie," Sam said. "That'll help if we need to talk to him."

"Sarah said her mom was pretty adamant that Mr. Bennett didn't have anything to do with Jacob's death," she added.

If Dean hadn't been driving, she would have gotten the full effect of his skeptical look. "Adamant?"

Katie grinned. "Her word, not mine. She's very dramatic."

"Did Ms. Adamant tell you anything else?" Dean asked.

Sam was still facing Katie, so he saw the extra blinking that was thrown in before she answered. "Not about the case, no." She quickly moved back into her seat resumed looking out the window.

Sam and Dean exchanged a glance. "What else did she say?" Sam repeated the prior question.

Katie sighed heavily and Dean saw her fold her arms across her chest in the rearview mirror. "Nothing," she said again, followed by another couple of blinks, which Dean witnessed this time.

"You're lying, Katie," Dean accused. "Is there something else we need to know?"

She rolled her eyes in response. "She asked who ya'll were. That's all. I told you, she knows everything that goes on in town, so she had heard that I had guests." What Katie didn't tell them is that Sarah had asked specifically why she had hotties staying with her that she wasn't sharing. From being around Sam and Dean for the last couple of days, she didn't want to see their reaction to this news. Sam would probably get embarrassed and Dean would become even cockier than he already was. She also didn't want to analyze the fact that she knew immediately which guy Sarah was referring to when she asked specifically about the smokin' hot one. Now was not the time for her to be attracted to a guy. So she put it out of her mind and concentrated on the task at hand. Investigating a haunting.

Only a few minutes later, Dean pulled the Impala onto the gravel driveway, past the Myer's Petting Zoo sign. Katie had been here once before, but she didn't remember it being so quiet. Dean put the car in park and both boys got out of the car. Katie started to follow suit.

"No," Dean said decisively as Katie opened her door. "We agreed that if we let you come with us, you would stay in the car." When Katie huffed a little and frowned, Dean added, "I'm serious, you're staying here."

"Katie," Sam added, "we're only asking you to stay here for your safety. If this ghost is here, it could attack again. We don't want anything to happen to you, especially with what happened this afternoon."

She appeared to accept this reasoning and got back into the car. She noticed both guys were still studying her. "I'll stay in the car, I promise. But, what exactly are you going to do?"

Dean and Sam both surveyed the property in front of them. An older house sat near the front of the land, with two barns further back. The house looked to be about seventy-five years old, the farmhouse style of home that had been popular at that time. The barns, both red with paint peeling, were separated by a fence, which held the infamous goats and a few sheep. A few birds chirping in the warm afternoon air added to the peaceful and serene feeling surrounding the place. Sam and Dean knew, however, that appearances were often deceiving.

In response to Katie's question, Dean pointed at the farmhouse. "We're going to get into that house and look around. Then we'll poke around in the barns, see if we find anything."

"You're going to break into Mr. Myer's house?" Katie nearly shrieked. "You can't do that!"

Dean leaned down, resting his forearms on the open window of the Impala so that he could meet Katie's eyes directly. "Listen, we let you come along. But right now, we need to do our job. Sometimes our job requires getting into places that we don't belong." Katie rolled her eyes at his condescending explanation and he could tell he was making her angry. "So, sit here, like you agreed to, and let us do what we came to do."

Sam decided she needed a little more reassurance. "We'll be careful, Katie and won't leave a trace of being there."

"What happens if Mr. Myers comes back?" she called as the boys walked away.

Dean threw her a cocky grin and answered, "Stall him." He had a feeling that if he had been close enough to her, she would have slapped him.

"Stall him, he says," Katie muttered to herself as she slumped back into her seat. "Like I know how to stall someone. What am I supposed to say, 'oh Mr. Myers, please don't go in there, there's two guys searching your house for a ghost right now'?" She watched out the windshield of the car as Sam and Dean strode up the steps to the front door. She saw Sam knock, while Dean peered through the nearest window. "Seriously, how do they think they are going to get in?" she asked out loud.

After a moment, Sam tried the door to see if it was unlocked. No such luck. "You see anything?" he asked his brother.

Dean stood up straight. "Nope, not a sign of anyone. I think we're safe." He reached into his back pocket, pulling out his lock-pick kit. He crouched in front of the door, selecting the right tool and went to work. In three minutes, he was grinning proudly up at Sam. "I am truly good at this," he bragged, as he opened the front door. Sam's only response was an exaggerated sigh. Hoping for more of a reaction from their audience, he glanced back at the car. Katie's mouth had dropped open and her eyes were wide with amazement. This caused him to smile even more. Just to make her a little madder than he already had, he threw a half wave at her as he walked into the house, Sam half a step behind him.

The boys walked into the front room. The stairs were straight in front of them, with what appeared to be the living room and kitchen to the left and right, respectively. Dean gestured with his head upstairs. "You take up, I'll take down?" he suggested. Sam nodded and walked up the stairs to the second floor, pulling out his infrared camera as he went. Dean took his EMF reader out of his back pocket and began searching the front room. He then moved into the kitchen.

The kitchen was extremely large, with an older industrial size stove and huge sink taking up most of the space. Dean wondered if the house was the old orphanage; he couldn't imagine a family cooking this much, although his point of view was slightly skewed from meal after meal of fast food. He kept an eye on the meter as he roamed through the room. The needle never moved. If there was any type of ghostly activity in this room, it was currently well hidden.

Upstairs, Sam was amazed at the number of bedrooms. Most of them had the doors closed, but there were at least six rooms, not counting the bathroom. He had the same thought as Dean; this could possibly be the old orphanage. If it was, it would make sense that Jacob's ghost would have been disturbed by someone moving in. Especially if there were kids trampling through on a regular basis. He continued searching through the rooms, but didn't find anything either. No orbs or cold-spots, none of the normal signs of a haunting. This job just wouldn't conform to any of the usual characteristics of a ghost. Hopefully Dean had found something downstairs.

Ten minutes later, the boys met back in the front room. "You get anything?" Dean asked.

Sam shook his head. "Not one sign of any kind of activity. This place is quiet as a mouse."

Dean ran a hand through his cropped hair, frustration showing. "Man, I would have thought this place would be jumping. Especially if this is the original orphanage house."

"Maybe we'll find something in the outer buildings. We don't know for sure where Jacob was killed. It might have been in one of the barns," Sam suggested, trying to make sense of the case.

"And that Sammy, is why you are the brains in the family. Well, sometimes," Dean said as he made his way back to the front door.

Katie let out a breath she didn't know she had been holding when she saw Sam and Dean come out of the Mr. Myers' house. She hoped that they were finished trespassing for the day. Instead, they moved towards the barns, Sam going to furthest one; Dean taking the closest. Katie watched, still nervous as they each disappeared into the barns. She was sure they knew what they were doing, but this seemed to be taking a lot longer than she had anticipated. With nothing to keep her attention, she leaned her head back against the seat and waited.

She had been lulled into a semi-sleepy state by the warm sun shining down into the back of the Impala. Since Sam and Dean had exited the house and moved to investigate the barns, she hadn't seen hide nor hair of them in about fifteen minutes. She was just about to fall asleep completely when she heard the unmistakable rumble of an approaching car. Waking up quickly, she looked down the road coming from the highway and saw an old pick-up truck headed towards the farm. A pick-up she recognized as belonging to Mr. Myers. Her heart began to pound as she realized that Sam and Dean weren't anywhere to be seen and she was left to explain her presence. Her heart started to pound and her palms began to sweat. What in the world was she going to do? She raced through any ideas that she could use.

Sam's cell phone rang as he swept the last corner of the barn he had selected to search. He read the caller ID and saw that it was Dean. He hoped his brother had more news than he did; he hadn't found one sign of supernatural activity.

"Hey, Dean, tell me you've found something," he greeted the older man.

"Not a damn thing. But we've got bigger problems," Dean leaned out the door of the barn he had finished explored as he talked Sam. "Someone just pulled up outside, right next to the car."

"Katie!" Sam summarized. He moved to the door and peered through the opening. He saw a truck parking next to the Impala and Katie opened the door to the car. "What is she going to do?"

Dean snuck out of the barn, keeping an eye on both vehicles the whole time. "I have no idea, but we've got to get her out of here. She can't be seen sneaking around with us, she does still have to live here." He looked over to the replica of the building he had exited and saw Sam coming out of the door. "I hope she's quick on her feet."

Not really knowing what she was doing, Katie decided there was no way to avoid this confrontation. She opened the door next to her as Mr. Myer's pulled in beside her. Taking a deep breath and praying her plan worked, she greeted him, "Hi Mr. Myers."


	12. Chapter 12

Title: The Boys Went Down to Georgia

Author: Razorbackgal0225

Rating: PG-13--A little language, but that's all

Disclaimer: I don't own any of the characters, cars or situations from Supernatural, but I sure wish I did. Anything you don't recognize is mine.

Author's Note: A special thanks go out to Catasauqua and ArtemiScribbles, my faithful reviewers. I appreciate ya'll continuing to read. I know this is a fairly short update, but the next few chapters will be pretty action-packed, so this one sort of had to end quickly. I hope you can forgive me! Please review if you get a chance!

* * *

Katie forced herself to breathe evenly. She knew that if she appeared to by hyperventilating, Mr. Myers would probably notice something was wrong. Having to lie was bad enough, passing out would be even worse. She put on her most friendly and hopefully her most convincing smile. "Hi Mr. Myers, how are you?" 

The man that got out of pickup truck was a few years shy of fifty, with graying black hair. Slightly portly, Mr. Myers had the face of a genial middle-aged man, especially since he smiled back at Katie when he saw her. "Hello there," he said, his voice was soft and lilting. "Can I help you?"

Katie swallowed. Throwing one more prayer up to the heavens, she began the cover story she had fabricated in the minute she had been given to prepare. "We met at one of the Chamber of Commerce meetings, right after you moved here. I'm Kaitlin Matthews."

A look of understanding dawned on his kind face. "You're the girl from the flower shop. You sent me the Welcome basket. That was awfully sweet of you," he continued to smile at her, causing Katie to feel even worse for the lie she was weaving.

"Yes, that's right, I own Matthews' Flowers." She was a little proud that he had remembered the basket, since she had designed them herself. "Also, I'm Lilly Prescott's aunt. She was here on a school trip last week."

Mr. Myers nodded in agreement. "Lilly, little girl about nine or so. Brown pigtails, front teeth missing, cute as a bug?" he asked.

"That's her," Katie answered, impressed with his memory. "I happened to be out driving around this afternoon and had a brainstorm." Out of the corner of her eye, she saw Sam and Dean approaching the two cars. "Actually, I was showing a couple of my friends from college around," she gestured towards the two men, making sure that Mr. Myers saw them. "And we drove by the sign on the highway."

Mr. Myers laughed. "Was this the best place you could come up with to show them? Surely there's something more interesting for three young people like you to see around here," he joked.

Katie giggled at his jest, hoping she didn't sound nervous. "Well, Lilly just raved about the good time she had here last week, and I got to thinking. We stopped and waited a few minutes, hoping you would come back, I hope you don't mind." When Myers shook his head, indicating he wasn't bothered, she continued. "Lilly's birthday is coming up next month, and I wondered if you did any party packages or anything like that. I think she and her friends' would really enjoy that."

Dean reached Katie and the man he guessed was Mr. Myers as she made this statement. He felt the overwhelming urge to hug her upon hearing her excuse for their presence on the farm. Not only had she not given way the real reason for their visit to the zoo, but she had also given a perfectly acceptable explanation. A birthday party for Lilly. As he and Sam joined them, he nodded in greeting to Myers and saw that Sam smiled. No need to be unfriendly and raise more suspicions.

"Birthday party? Well, I can't say that I've ever hosted one of those here, but I'm sure we could throw something together. A few tables, some balloons, that sort of thing?" Mr. Myers suggested.

Katie was warming up the idea. "Her parents and I would supply the cake and snacks and all that. I know she had such a good time here, that I thought it would be the perfect place for her party."

Sam and Dean exchanged surprised looks as Katie and Myers continued discussing Lilly's birthday extravaganza. Sam was amazed by her quick thinking and good solution to their problem. If he didn't know better, he would think she had been doing this as long as they had. She had easily charmed Myers into believing her story. He saw the same thoughts were going through Dean's mind as well. Katie had done well.

The conversation between Katie and Myers ended as he gave her a business card and instructed her to contact him when she had more details. She assured him she would, as soon as Amanda and Alex returned home. "Thank you Mr. Myers, I really appreciate it," she said as she returned to the backseat of the Impala.

"Anytime, dearie. You just let me know about the party and we'll get something set up." He patted the roof of the car as Dean put it in drive to pull away.

Katie was quiet as they drove down the gravel road back to the highway. Sam wasn't sure what should be said, if congratulations were in order or not. She had certainly helped them out of tight situation, but he wasn't sure she would be glad of that. Once the tires hit blacktop, Dean broke the silence.

"Katie, I gotta say, you did a fantastic job back there," Dean proclaimed, a little pride evident in his voice. "When I said you needed to stall him, I had no idea you'd be so good at it."

At this statement, Katie snapped out of her trance. She leaned up between the front seats and slapped both of the boys on the arm, Dean first, then Sam. "Don't _ever_ do that to me again! I had to lie to that perfectly nice man just to explain why we were there! I almost hard a heart attack!"

Dean reflexively rubbed the spot where Katie had struck him. "Hey, there's no need for violence. It wasn't that big of a deal. You weren't in any danger or anything."

"I don't care! I'll never be able to look him in eye again. And now we may have to have Lilly's birthday party there just so I don't feel guilty. This is just great. Stall him," Katie continued muttering under her breath as she sat back in the seat. She saw Sam's shoulders shaking with controlled laughter and started again. "Stop laughing, it's not funny! How are we supposed to throw a party at a petting zoo?"

At this, Sam couldn't contain his amusement any longer. He burst out laughing, so much so that he lost his breath. Dean soon joined him as Katie fumed. When Sam turned to face her and saw her furious expression, he explained. "I'm sorry, Katie, but it's pretty funny. You should have seen your face when Myers drove up," he started laughing again.

Hearing the men's laughter lessened her anger. She had to admit, it had been a ridiculous situation. And she was a little impressed with the story she had concocted.

"C'mon, Katie, you did a great job. You're a natural," Dean cajoled. He focused on her for a minute, throwing her a smile, before returning his attention to the road. "You gotta admit, it was a little bit of a rush, wasn't it?"

"No," Katie replied obstinately. The boys waited a moment, and then heard a quiet, "Okay, maybe a little." Then louder, "But that doesn't mean I want to do it again. Once was enough for me, thank you very much."

Dean's smirk was in full effect as he said, "I promise you, the next time we need a diversion at a petting zoo involving a birthday party, we won't call you."

"Oh shut up," was the last comment from the backseat. Sam and Dean grinned at each other, and Dean turned up the volume on the radio.

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In the fourth building on the petting zoo land, the only building Sam and Dean didn't have a chance to search, a shadowy figure watched the car drive away. The anger in the room was palpable, thick enough to be cut with a knife. That someone, those people, would have the gall to intrude on his property was something that couldn't be borne. Eyes followed the car, noting the make and model. This place was his and no one would take it away from him. No one. Something had to be done about the intruders.


	13. Chapter 13

Title: The Boys Went Down to Georgia

Author: Razorbackgal0225

Rating: PG-13--A little language, but that's all

Disclaimer: I don't own any of the characters, cars or situations from Supernatural, but I sure wish I did. Anything you don't recognize is mine.

Author's Note: Thanks so much to the lovely reviews I received on the last chapter. The next couple of updates will be full of action (I hope.) Please continue to let me know what you think!

* * *

"You're seriously going to go talk to him?" Katie asked disbelievingly. She, Sam and Dean had returned to her house when Dean had informed her that they were planning to pay Mr. Bennett a visit. She was expressing her doubts. "You're kidding?" 

"No, I'm not kidding," Dean stated. "We got absolute zilch from searching the petting zoo. We've got to find out something about what's going on with this freaking ghost." Dean's voice grew in volume the longer he talked. "Bennett might be our only chance to get anything about why Jacob is still around."

Sam sat silently on the couch, his eyes going back and forth between his brother and their host, much like watching a tennis match. Katie had her hands on her hips, as if she were preparing for battle. Sam had a feeling he was going to enjoy this conversation.

"What happens if Bennett had something to do with Jacob's death?" Katie questioned, frowning as she did. "The people in town could have been wrong. He's not going to be happy if ya'll start snooping around when he's gotten away with it for 30 years."

Dean took a deep breath and released it slowly, but loudly, his exasperation showing. "He's a sixty year old man, Katie, I'm pretty sure we can take him. There's absolutely nothing to worry about."

"Nothing to worry about!" Katie came close to shouting. "We just got caught sneaking around some poor man's farm and now you're charging in to face some guy that could be a killer. How is that not something to worry about?" Dean shook his head and stalked into the dining room, effectively ending the argument. Katie's mouth dropped open in shock. "He's walking away," she commented more to herself than Sam.

Sam responded anyway. "Yeah, that's pretty much the normal MO for him. It's easier to ignore a problem than solve it." He stood and walked to where Katie was standing. "But honestly, he's right." Sam saw that she was about to interrupt and hurried to continue. "We do this kind of thing all the time. We know how to ask questions without anyone getting suspicious. We'll be alright."

Katie sighed. "Are you sure?" she said, her eyes filled with worry. Sam smiled, a little part of him glad to see someone concerned about their safety.

"I'm sure. You said it takes about an hour to get there, right?" She nodded in response. "We'll be back in three hours or so."

Dean reentered the room as Sam finished convincing Katie. He didn't immediately meet her gaze, instead looking at his brother. "You ready?" he asked.

"Yeah, let me grab my computer." Sam reached for his laptop and slid it into his bag. He glanced between the two other people, noting the large amount of tension that was in the room. Pulling a page from his brother's book, he smiled at Katie and headed to the front door.

Left alone, Dean and Katie exchanged borderline nervous looks. Katie didn't normally shout at people she barely knew, but for some reason, Dean brought out the worst in her. She wasn't sure if this reaction was caused by her trying desperately to not like him or if he genuinely rubbed her the wrong way. She guessed the former, but she really didn't want to think about it.

Dean considered his options. He could either apologize for walking away when she was talking to him, which would be completely out of character, or he could pretend nothing had happened. For reasons unknown to him, he didn't want Katie to be upset with him. Generally he couldn't care less about what people thought about him, but she was different. Before he could make a decision, Katie made it for him.

"I'm sorry about the yelling," she apologized softly. "I don't have any right to put in my two cents on something I know nothing about." When Dean tore his eyes from the floor, he saw she meant what she was saying. "I'm just scared, that's all. I've never dealt with this kind of thing before."

This time, when Dean smiled at her, it wasn't the cocky grin he gave her most of the time, or even the self-satisfied smirk he wore when he knew he was right. It was a honest-to-goodness smile that forced Katie to remind herself to breath. "We'll be alright Katie," he responded. "Besides, Sam can always bore him to death if anything goes wrong."

Katie laughed at him, shaking her head. "Just be careful, alright?"

Dean held up two fingers in a salute. "Scout's honor," he replied as he walked to the door. He joined his brother on the porch. "You've got my cell phone number. If anything happens, if you see anything out of the ordinary, you call me right away." Katie nodded. "And I think steak would be a great idea for dinner."

"Oh, like you were ever a scout. Get out of here," she muttered as she shut the door behind them. She leaned against the door, listening for the roar of the Impala's engine. Realizing she had plenty of time before Lilly came home from Casey's house, she decided to catch up on her housework. The laundry wouldn't do itself.

An hour later, Sam and Dean arrived at the address given in the phone book for Tom Bennett. Wordlessly, Dean reached across to the glove compartment, pulling a pistol from it. When Sam raised his eyebrows at this action, Dean shrugged. "Can't be too careful. After all, he might have killed Jacob." Sam didn't protest, instead getting out of the car and moving to the sidewalk, as Dean placed the gun in the waistband of his jeans.

The boys' had discussed their cover story on the way to Watkinsville. They had been researching their family tree for an anniversary present for their parents and had run across the name Jacob Smith. After digging a little further, they had discovered that Jacob had been in the Hilltop Orphanage and were looking for more information. Sam hoped it would work and that they would find out something from this trip. Unfortunately, they were getting nowhere fast.

They reached the front door and Sam knocked on the door. A few minutes later, it was opened by an old man, mostly bald. He wore glasses and was slightly hunched over. But Sam noticed his eyes were sharp and bright, which he took as a good sign. "Can I help you?" he asked, speaking with a heavy Southern accent.

"Yes sir, are you Mr. Tom Bennett?" Sam asked, using his nicest voice. When the man nodded in response, he continued. "The same Mr. Bennett that used to run the Hilltop Orphanage?"

At this question, Mr. Bennett's smile faded for a moment, before returning. "Yes, that's me," he replied, his voice a little sad. "Would you like to come in?" he opened the door further, gesturing for the boys to enter. Dean and Sam accepted the invitation, walking into the house.

As always, Dean began noting the exits out of house, in case everything went south. He also noticed the place was immaculate, with everything in its place, even though the entire house appeared to be packed with stuff. Folders and papers were stacked in the three bookcases that lined the walls. Surprisingly enough, everything seemed to be in some sort of order. Dean met Bennett's eyes and was surprised to see the old man smiling at him. He had somehow managed to make a good impression.

"Please, have a seat," Mr. Bennett offered. Sam and Dean both took a seat on the worn but clean couch. Bennett sat in the chair opposite them and adjusted his glasses before asking. "Did you boys have a relative at the orphanage?"

Sam was surprised by his 'correct' conclusion. "Yes sir, we think so. How did you know?"

"There's a few people every year come by to ask about some boy that I had while I ran the place. And since you're strangers to me, I can't imagine you having another reason to talk to me," Bennett explained. Dean was impressed by his rationale.

"Yes sir, we were working on a present for our parents' anniversary and came across a name that we didn't recognize. After doing a little more research, we found out he had been at your orphanage," Dean added. "Do you happen to remember a Jacob Smith?"

At the mention of the name, Bennett's happy expression disappeared completely. "Oh," he started, removing his glasses and rubbing his eyes. "I always dreaded the day one of Jacob's kin would come asking questions." When he saw that Sam and Dean weren't surprised by his reaction, he continued, "I suppose you know that Jacob died while in my care."

"Yes, we did find out that. We were wondering if you could tell us a little more about how he died," Sam said. "Just so we'll know what happened."

Bennett leaned back in his chair, obviously disturbed by the memory he was recalling. "I can tell you everything I know. I can tell you that what happened to little Jacob is the reason I stopped running the home." He paused a moment before launching into the story. "Jacob was a good, smart kid. He was about 10 or so when he came to the home. He was always helpful, never complained about his chores like some of the other boys. To this day, I can still see his smiling face in my mind's eye. Because he was so cheerful, he was quickly picked by a family for adoption. Three days before the adoption was final, I found him in his room, beaten to death." Bennett stopped for a moment. "I don't mind telling you boys, I had some bad apples back then. It was a difficult job to begin with and Jacob's death pushed me over the edge. I couldn't handle it anymore, so I retired."

Sam waited a minute before asking, "Do you have any idea who might have killed Jacob?"

The old man shook his head. "There was at least a dozen of those boys who could have done something like that. Kids were passed from home to home whenever they caused a problem, so I ended up with a lot of troublemakers. It wasn't a good system. I tried my best to help them, but some of them were beyond help."

Dean and Sam exchanged a glance, knowing the next question would be the hardest to explain. "Mr. Bennett, do you know if any of Jacob's possessions were left? Anything that might have his DNA on it?" Sam asked. When he saw this surprised Bennett, he quickly added, "We wanted to make sure he was actually related to us before we shared this story with the family."

Bennett frowned, deep in thought. "No, I don't think so. We got rid of everything after Jacob passed. I remember that state made us burn his clothes and he didn't really have anything else. The officials weren't real keen on the news getting out, but of course, in a small town like that, everyone knew what happened. Most people thought I had something to do with it." He looked at his watch. "Oh, excuse me just a minute boys, it's time for my heart pill. If I don't take it now, I'll forget it later," he remarked, laughing at himself. He shuffled into the kitchen, leaving Sam and Dean alone.

"Great," Dean muttered, "nothing's left. How is this kid still appearing?"

"I don't know," Sam answered quietly. "I was expecting there to be something, a stuffed animal, a piece of clothing that had some of his blood on it. What are we supposed to burn if there's nothing left of him?"

"I doubt he had a doll with hair made out of his. Wouldn't that have been convenient?"

Sam slumped into the couch. "I have no idea what to do next."

"Well, let's ask about the list of names and then head back to Katie's," Dean suggested. "I'm getting hungry."

The younger Winchester couldn't help but grin at his brother. "I think you miss her."

Dean rolled his eyes in response. "Oh, would you stop with that crap?" He would have continued if Mr. Bennett hadn't strolled back into the room. Dean and Sam both rose from their seats. "We've taken up enough of your time today, sir," Dean said.

"Oh, it's not a problem at all," Mr. Bennett appeared to have regained some of his good spirits. "I don't get that many visitors, so it's nice to have someone to talk to."

"I do have one more question," Sam commented. "Do you happen to have a list of the boys that were in the orphanage at the same time as Jacob? We'd like to see if we could get in touch with anyone that knew him and find out more about him."

Bennett was happy to help. "That's something I can do for you. As you can see," he gestured towards the full shelves behind him, "I'm a little bit of a packrat. I kept all the paperwork from when I turned the orphanage over to the new manager. I'm pretty that included a roster." He moved directly to one particular section of the bookcase, pulling a folder from the many lined up. "Ah yes, here it is." He took two sheets of paper from the folder and handed them to Sam. "I hope that helps you out."

"Thank you sir, we appreciate your time and the information," Sam concluded, holding out his hand. Mr. Bennett accepted it, then Dean's as the boys headed to the door.

"No problem at all. If you come up with anything else, I'm always at home," Bennett said holding the door open for them. "And boys," Sam and Dean turned to face him. "If you do find any other relatives of yours and Jacob's, please give them my regrets. That boy's death haunts me to this day."

"We will sir, and thank you again," Dean smiled at the older man, understanding the guilt he carried. He would have felt the same way. The boys walked down the sidewalk to the car.

Katie sang along to the radio as she put away the clean clothes she had folded. Checking her watch, she saw that she had a little more time before Lilly came home, wanting supper. And Lilly would be closely followed by two hungry grown men, one who had requested steak for dinner. Mentally going through her supply of groceries, she decided steak was out of the question, but she could throw together some baked chicken without any problem. She admittedly couldn't cook much, but what she could, she did well.

She walked down the hall and down the stairs, entering the kitchen. She shuffled through a few cabinets, getting out ingredients for the meal. Still singing, she grabbed a glass measuring cup off the shelf and spun around, starting to the refrigerator. As soon as she did, her heart skipped a beat. Reflexively she dropped the cup, which shattered as it hit the floor. Standing in the doorway to the dining room was Jacob, eyes boring into her. After a long moment, she remembered the instructions she had been given and reached into her pocket for her cell phone. She spared a glance at the phone, pulling up Dean's number. She looked back up and Jacob was still there. But something had changed. Instead of staring at her, as he had been before, he appeared to be looking behind her. His expression changed to one of terror and his mouth opened as if he were screaming. Her heart was pounding so loud in her ears, she didn't hear the back door open.

Terrified, Katie took a huge step away from the ghost boy. An arm grabbed her from behind, closing around her neck and placing a massive hand over her mouth. She screamed, but a cloth was blocking any sound she emitted. The cloth also covered her nose and filled her nostrils with a sickly, sweet smell. Katie fought as best she could against her captor, trying to escape, but she quickly wore down. She swung her arms one final time, dropping her cell phone and looked toward the door. The last thing she saw before she lost consciousness was Jacob's face, tears running down his cheeks.


	14. Chapter 14

Title: The Boys Went Down to Georgia

Author: Razorbackgal0225

Rating: PG-13--A little language, but that's all

Disclaimer: I don't own any of the characters, cars or situations from Supernatural, but I sure wish I did. Anything you don't recognize is mine.

Author's Note: I apologize for the cliffhanger in the previous chapter. Well sort of :-) I hope this chapter makes up for it. Please let me know what you think about how the story is going.

* * *

Dean was thoroughly confused. All the way back to Commerce, he and Sam had bounced ideas off each other regarding why Jacob was appearing and attacking the children in town. Even Sam, with all his freakish amount of random knowledge, had exhausted all thoughts and had leaned his head back against the seat in defeat. Every ghost they had faced before was around for a reason. Whether it was revenge or anger, a motive could always be found. As much as he hated to admit it, it helped them out if they knew why the spirit was acting the way it did. He had developed into such a 'shoot first, ask questions later' guy that waiting to make sense of the situation was driving him crazy. 

If a piece of Jacob, be it blood or whatever, hadn't been left when he died, there shouldn't be anything holding him to this world. And when Sam had suggested that maybe he was looking for his murderer, Dean had reminded him that Jacob had only assaulted children. Children that in no way could have had anything to do with Jacob's death. Again, just another way that this case made absolutely no sense.

And then there was Lilly. The cute little girl had grabbed ahold of his heartstrings and tugged as hard as she could. She was sweet and innocent, everything that he had wished for Sam during his childhood. He had tried for so many years when they were younger to shield Sam from the painful truth of the things that hid in the dark. His failure to do that was just one more that he added to his mental list of how he hadn't fulfilled his duty as a big brother. Now Lilly was learning the same truths and Dean again felt the sting of defeat. Little kids shouldn't know about ghosts and demons. He only hoped that the events over the last couple of weeks hadn't scarred her for life.

Of course, he didn't want to dwell on Lilly's aunt even less. Katie had a good head on her shoulders to go along with being girl-next-door cute. A killer combination as far as he was concerned. Dean wasn't the introspective type, but he also wasn't an idiot. The girls that he normally chased after, not that it took a lot most of the time, had three things in common. Willing, able and completely uninteresting outside of the bedroom. He had learned a painful lesson from Cassie. He would never again trust himself enough to form a connection with a girl. That only led to ugly goodbyes and a slightly thicker skin. Katie was that type of girl, he could tell. In the few days he had been around her, he had enjoyed talking to her. She was funny, smart and nice. The complete trifecta of things he couldn't have.

Instead of thinking about issues that made him sound like Sam, Dean replayed the conversation they had with Mr. Bennett in his head. He had done this at least five times since they had left Watkinsville. He remembered the list of names the old man had given them. As they passed the '5 miles to Commerce' sign, he asked Sam,

"Hey, did you look over the list of kids that were in the orphanage?"

Sam roused himself from his zoned out state and rustled through his computer bag. "Oh, yeah, I forgot. What are the chances any of them are going to look familiar," he commented sarcastically. Dean grinned at this, noticing his brother had just sounded exactly like him. Maybe he could bring the kid around. He waited patiently as Sam read over the list.

"Adams, Cook, Evans, Forester, Hayes, Jones, Jones, Jones," Sam took a deep, tired breath and continued, "King, Lee, Mayes, Myers, New…" his voice trailed off as he realized what name he had said. "Myers!" The exhaustion had disappeared from his voice. "First name, Franklin, age 14, orphaned at the age of 6."

"Holy shit," Dean muttered. "The guy who bought the old orphanage lived there before. That sounds like bad news."

Sam's blue eyes sparked a little as he looked at his brother. "Dean, what if Myers killed Jacob? Wouldn't him moving back to the scene of the crime be enough to bring Jacob out of the woodwork?"

Dean shrugged his shoulders, then quickly executed a u-turn in the middle of the road. They had passed the gravel road to the petting zoo two minutes ago. "Could be," he answered. "It certainly is weird and I'm guessing not a coincidence. Call Katie and tell her where we are going," he commanded, handing Sam his cell phone. For once, Sam didn't argue. He found the phone number and dialed.

"No one's answering," he said after a minute. He hung up as the voicemail picked up. "I'll try again in a few minutes." Sam saw the frown cross Dean's face. "Dean, I'm sure she's just busy and couldn't hear it. If anything had happened, she would have called." Even as he reassured his brother, he redialed Katie's number. Still no answer. An idea came to Sam. "You know," he started, "this kind of reminds me of that ghost in Baltimore."

"The death omen?" Dean asked. "You think that's what Jacob is?"

"What if it's not Jacob that's attacking these kids? What is Myers is the bad guy and Jacob is trying to warn them?" Sam guessed.

"Not a bad theory." Dean gestured with his head toward the phone. "Try her again," he ordered. Sam sighed and dialed again when he saw that Dean's knuckles were white from the death grip he had on the steering wheel.

Lilly hummed quietly to herself as she entered Katie's house. She was tired from all the playing she had done at Casey's house. It had been a lot of work, but they had finally finished Barbie's fashion show, instead of getting halfway through and calling it quits. She was looking forward to a grilled cheese sandwich for supper and talking to Mr. Dean and Mr. Sam again. Walking into the living room, she called,

"Aunt Katie, I'm home!" Not getting an answer, she first checked the laundry room. Then she went part of the way upstairs and yelled again for Katie. Still no reply. Normally, Lilly wouldn't have been that worried. Katie had been known to hide from her when she got home, starting a game of hide-and-seek. But with everything that had happened, especially this morning's near accident with Joey, she was immediately nervous. This time, her shout was a little more anxious.

"Aunt Katie, where are you?" Anyone hearing her voice would have noticed the note of fear in it. "Aunt Katie?" This time it even cracked. She approached the kitchen slowly and heard her aunt's cell phone ringing. She quickly moved around the island, searching for the phone. She found it on the floor, next to shards of broken glass. Even though she had been told repeatedly to not ever touch a mess such as this, she broke the rule to pick up the phone.

Luckily, Katie's phone was just like her mom's, so she could answer it with no problem. Pushing the button, she held it to her ear. "Hello?" she answered shakily.

"Lilly?" Sam was surprised to hear the little girl's voice instead of Katie's. And something sounded wrong. "Lilly, are you alright?"

"Mr. Sam?" Lilly whispered. "Is that you?"

Dean glanced worriedly at Sam when he said Lilly's name. A hundred reasons ran through his head of why Lilly would be answering the phone and not Katie. 999 of them weren't good.

"Yes, Lilly, it's me. Is everything okay? Where's your aunt?" Sam questioned gently.

His response caused a dam to burst in Lilly. "I can't find her," she wailed. "She's not in the house, and her phone was on the floor in the kitchen when I walked in and there's broken glass everywhere!" By this time, she was crying.

Lilly was loud enough that Dean had heard her comments through the phone. Frustrated with himself for not having foreseen this, he claimed the phone from Sam. He should have known they wouldn't get away with their trip to the petting zoo that cleanly. Sam gave an understanding nod and began preparing for their arrival at the old orphanage, reaching into the backseat for their weapons.

"Lilly, sweetie, it's Dean. Are you okay?" he asked. Sam recognized the tone in Dean's voice. It was the same one his older brother had used on him since he was little. It was his 'I'm going to take care of everything' voice.

"Mr. Dean, I can't find Aunt Katie!" she repeated, her sobs getting louder by the second.

"Alright, munchkin. I need you to do something for me. I need you to take you aunt's phone and go to your nearest neighbor's house. Who's the closest one?" he instructed, as he turned the car into the petting zoo's drive. Sam continued collecting guns and knives.

"Mr. Frank lives next door," Lilly said, still sniffling.

"Good girl. Go next door to Mr. Frank's house and tell him that Aunt Katie's been kidnapped, okay?" When he heard Lilly say yes, he continued. "Ask Mr. Frank to call the police."

Lilly was still crying, but not as much as before. "Was it that little boy who took her? Do I need to tell the police about him?"

Dean's jaw clenched at the fear he heard in Lilly's voice. "No Lilly, don't tell them that. What I need you to say is that Mr. Myers took your aunt. I know it sounds strange, but I need you to trust me, okay? Can you do that for me?"

"Mr. Myers from the petting zoo?" she said. "Why would he take Aunt Katie? He doesn't even know her."

By this time, the boys had reached the petting zoo. "Lilly, listen to me. I need you to get the police to come to the petting zoo, alright. Do you understand?" His tone was firm but kind, not wanting to scare the little girl any more than she already was.

"Okay, Mr. Dean. I'm on my way next door right now," Lilly stated, walking out the front door.

"Good girl. Keep the phone with you, munchkin, and I'll call you back as soon as we find her. We will find her, I promise," Dean vowed. Sam nodded in agreement, even though Lilly couldn't see him.

"I know," her trusting answer broke Dean's heart. She hung up the phone and knocked on Mr. Frank's door.

Dean shoved his phone in his pocket and took the gun that Sam handed him. "Myers must have thought we were on to him when he caught us out here," his comment was mostly to himself. "This is our fault."

"No, it's not," Sam countered, his tone inflexible. "This is Myers doing, not ours. We couldn't have known." He tucked a knife into the waistband of his jeans. He had one gun in his hand and another in his pocket. Dean had the shotgun, his ever-present hunting knife and a bottle of holy water ready to go.

"We've got to find her," Dean said as he reached for the door handle.

"We will," was Sam's response.


	15. Chapter 15

Title: The Boys Went Down to Georgia

Author: Razorbackgal0225

Rating: PG-13--A little language, but that's all

Disclaimer: I don't own any of the characters, cars or situations from Supernatural, but I sure wish I did. Anything you don't recognize is mine.

Author's Note: As always, reviews make me smile and write more, so please make my day!

* * *

The first thing Katie was conscious of was the pounding in her head. She hadn't felt this bad since Amanda's bachelorette party. She started to put her hand on her forehead to make sure it was still there when she realized the second thing. She couldn't move her hands. And then she recognized that her feet were immobile as well. Slowly, the events immediately preceding her 'nap' came back to her. She had been in the kitchen, about to start supper for Lilly… 

"Lilly!" she screamed. Well, she thought she screamed. It actually came out more like 'Mmmmm." She had been gagged. Katie was gripped by the most intense fear she had ever known. Someone had snuck into her house, kidnapped her and she didn't know where her niece was. Her eyes filled with tears as she prayed that Lilly was safe and hadn't returned to her house yet. She began to take stock of her surroundings, hoping to find a clue as to where she was.

There wasn't much light wherever she was. She didn't know if this was caused by the dark walls, or if was late enough that the sun was down. Her arms were behind her and she was tied to an uncomfortable chair, her legs attached to it. She recognized the building as a barn-type structure. There was hay everywhere and there were farm implements hanging on the wall. But it didn't look familiar at all. Trying to calm herself down, she took deep breaths. She was a smart girl; surely she could do something to help herself out.

She struggled against the ropes that held her, testing their strength. All she got for her trouble were sore, raw wrists. Then she bounced in the chair, trying to move closer to one of the walls or maybe even a door. She quickly found out that the tricks she had seen in the movies and on TV didn't quite work the same in real life. Out of breath and still thoroughly scared, she paused in her activities. Then she heard something. The plaintive bleeping of a sheep.

She stilled her movements. A sheep? Where could she be, if she was around sheep? Her mind raced to remember all the places in town where animals were kept when she groaned out loud. The petting zoo! As she realized where she was, she remembered seeing Jacob right before she was attacked. Obviously there was a connection between the old orphanage and the ghost boy.

Working with renewed energy, she fought the ropes again, becoming more and more scared as time passed. Without knowing the reason why, she knew the longer she was trapped, the worse off she would be. Her muffled shouts echoed off the wood walls.

A flash of movement caught her eye. Focusing her slightly bleary eyes on the farthest wall, she could make out the shape of a person. Hoping with all her might it was anyone but whoever had kidnapped her, she began to call out, as best she could. The person moved closer to her and she fell silent. It was Jacob. He came within two feet of her and stopped. Katie didn't know what to do. She was fairly certain that a human had taken her from her house and not Jacob, but she wasn't completely sure of his intentions either. The little boy stared at her, a sad expression on his pale face. Katie saw his mouth was moving, but she couldn't hear what he was saying. Finally, his whisper was loud enough for her to hear.

"I'm sorry." The fact that a ghost was apologizing to her frightened her more than anything else that had happened. As she watched, Jacob began to fade, eventually vanishing completely. Two seconds after she lost sight of him, the door to the building opened.

Katie wasn't sure who she had been expecting to enter, but the owner of the petting zoo was not it. She immediately began yelling again, thanking God someone had found her. Mr. Myers would free her and she could return home. But then she saw what Myers was holding in his hand and her shouts died in her throat. He had a gun. This was so not good.

Myers walked into the shack until he was standing directly in front of her. The nice, kind man that she had talked to earlier in the day was gone. In his place was a crazy-eyed wild man wearing a sadistic smile. The tears that had started when Katie first came to returned. "You shouldn't have come here," he said, his voice soft and creepy. "Everything was going fine until you showed up with those men. I hadn't bothered any adults. Why did you have to mess everything up?"

Katie swallowed, hoping to push her terror down some. Innately knowing she didn't need to startle her captor, she moved as little as possible, her breathing the only thing that proved she was still alive. That and her rapidly blinking eyes. Myers continued his speech. "I guess you found out that I was the one after those children. I only went after kids and no one cares about kids. That's why I was here before. No one loved me, so I was sent an orphanage. No one loved me, so I was never adopted. No one loved any of us boys. Except for Jacob." Katie was taken aback by the strong hatred that was in his voice as he said the boy's name. "Jacob was special, he was being adopted. So I had to stop it from happening."

Katie knew if she escaped this, she would eventually dwell on the story Myers had told her. But right then, she didn't care. All she wanted was out of that building and away from the crazy man with the gun.

"Now, I have to make sure that you don't tell anyone what I've been doing. I'm sorry to have to do this, but I have to kill you," he stated this matter-of-factly, as if he hadn't told her he planned to end her life. Katie's eyes grew wide and she started shaking. Myers cocked the gun in his hand and raised it level with her forehead.

A crash rattled the one window in the dimly lit room. Something had slammed into the side of the building. Myers reluctantly lowered his gun and headed towards the door. Katie continued to try not to hyperventilate. She rapidly searched the room for anything she could use to escape or even delay Myers's return. Her heart sank and she closed her eyes in misery when the door reopened a few seconds later. Preparing herself for the inevitable, she grudgingly raised her eyes. Instead of Myers, she was ecstatic to see Dean sneaking into the shack, shotgun raised and ready to shoot anything that moved. No man had ever looked so good to her as he did at that moment. Unsure of what to do, she whimpered slightly around the cloth in her mouth. His eyes briefly met hers before returning to his sweep of the room. When he was assured the coast was clear, he moved to where she was tied.

First, he pulled the gag from her mouth. Her jaw was a little sore from being held open for however long, but that didn't keep her from whispering, "It's Myers. He's the one that's been attacking the kids."

"I know, we figured it out on the way back from Bennett's. Are you okay?" he asked, as he untied her hands, still watching the door intently.

"I'm fine. Where's Lilly?" she couldn't contain her worry over her niece any longer.

"I had her go to a neighbor's and call the police. She's safe. Are you sure you're alright?" Dean hadn't been satisfied by her previous answer.

"I'm scared shitless, is that what you mean?" Katie shook her hands when they were free, working to regain feeling. Dean had started on the ropes binding her feet. He looked up from his task and met her gaze. The band of responsibility around his heart tightened when he saw the fear in her brown eyes. He gave her a reassuring smile.

"That noise you heard outside was Sammy creating a diversion. We're gonna get you out of here Katie," he told her.

Her response was exactly the same as her niece's earlier. "I know." She had her hand on Dean's shoulder, steadying herself as he freed her feet. Movement behind him grabbed her attention. She gripped his shoulder tighter when she saw Jacob had returned. "Dean, Jacob's here," she said softly.

He froze for a moment. "Shit. That means Myers is on his way back." He threw the ropes to the side and helped her out of the chair. "Can you walk?" She took a couple of test steps and nodded when she found she could. "Okay, you need to hide, alright?" He pointed to the corner of the shack. "Stay over there until this is over with. Do not," he said forcefully, "do not come out until I tell you to."

Katie slid over to where Dean had indicated, saying over her shoulder, "Be careful." She took her position behind the biggest post she could find and waited. Dean crept back to the door of the building, gun ready. Jacob was still standing in the middle of the room, so both Katie and Dean could see him clearly. He suddenly lifted his arm and pointed towards the opposite wall from where Dean was stationed. A hidden door swung open, revealing an enraged Myers.


	16. Chapter 16

Title: The Boys Went Down to Georgia

Author: Razorbackgal0225

Rating: PG-13--A little language, but that's all

Disclaimer: I don't own any of the characters, cars or situations from Supernatural, but I sure wish I did. Anything you don't recognize is mine.

Author's Note: To my regular readers, I apologize for the delay in a new chapter being posted. I was out of town on business all week and not only did my hotel not have Internet access, but I also forgot to pack my inspiration. And as this story is wrapping up, I have another one knocking at the door, possibly a sequel. Let me know what you think. If you read this, please remember to press the review button at the end, I'd love to hear from you!

* * *

Sam's distraction had worked like a charm. While Dean had been searching for an entrance to the building they were fairly certain held Katie, Sam had stumbled upon the black Ford Escort that had tried to run down the little boy across the street. Sam found the door was unlocked and in a move that would have made his brother extremely proud, hot-wired the car in less than two minutes. The crash that caused Myers to abandon his captive was Sam driving the car into the nearby barn. Sam watched, crouched behind the side of the car, as Dean snuck into the shack. He didn't know how much time Dean would need to rescue Katie, but he was determined to help as much as possible. Unfortunately, Sam wasn't expecting to deal with a ruthless, determined killer. 

Myers approached the car steadily and Sam tracked his movements across the farm. He took note of the pistol in his hand and pulled his own gun in response. When Myers passed by the car to enter the barn, Sam rose from his hiding place and followed him. He crept in the door and was immediately hit in the side with a large plank of wood. In his haste to protect himself from another attack, Sam dropped his gun. He faced the older man that he had met just earlier that day. Myers growled, his voice filled with rage, "You shouldn't have come here."

He swung his weapon at Sam again, who this time dodged the blow easily and grabbed the wood as it passed by him. He jerked the board away from Myers, who stumbled slightly as he did. Using the plank, Sam knocked the gun from Myers raised hand. Myers realized he was now unarmed. He turned and ran out of the barn, slamming the door shut as he left. Sam heard the bar being placed in front of the door at that same time that he hit it running full speed. He bounced off the door, landing on the ground. Slightly dazed, it took Sam a full minute to realize he was locked in the barn.

Katie held her breath as Myers stalked into the room. She knew Dean was prepared to handle whatever happened, but she was still terrified. This situation was entirely new to her, having never been kidnapped and threatened at gunpoint before today. She braved a look around the post she was behind. Myers appeared to be searching the entire shack for her, kicking over blankets and going through stacks of hay. She also noticed that Jacob had disappeared from the room. Myers came closer and closer to where she was hiding and Katie prayed Dean was planning on acting soon. She wasn't sure she could defend herself if necessary.

Dean waited patiently until Myers was engrossed in his search for Katie before he moved from behind the door. He followed him silently, tracking his movements around the shack. He didn't want to shoot the man, so he was trying to catch him off guard long enough to neutralize him. Dean had no doubts he could take him, but he had to be sure that Katie wasn't hurt in the process. As Myers was obviously deranged, the possibility that he would do anything to escape was very real.

Myers picked up a shovel along the way, plunging it into the various stacks of hay and debris that lay around the shack. He went through one particularly large pile with his back turned to both Katie and Dean. Dean saw Katie peer around the post, checking Myer's position, he was sure. He frowned at her and motioned for her to get back. This movement must have caught Myer's attention, for the man spun around, swinging the shovel as he did. Dean was ready though, and brought his shotgun up to block the blow. Katie shrieked slightly, startled by the sudden fighting occurring in front of her. Dean heard her and hoped she had enough sense to stay out of the line of fire.

Before Myers had a chance to attack with the shovel again, Dean drove the butt end of his gun into the man's stomach. Myers doubled over from the blow and lost his grip on the shovel. "You shouldn't mess with kids," Dean snarled as he whipped the gun across Myers's face. Thinking the man was down, he shifted his attention to check on Katie. Myers saw this and managed to kick Dean's feet out from under him. Dean hit the ground hard, banging his head on the dirt floor as he did. Myers slowly got to his feet, picking up his weapon as he did.

Dean's eyes flew around the room, looking for some way out of the situation. Myers loomed over him, much too close for comfort. He didn't know if Sam was near, so he couldn't count on any help from him. He prepared to kick Myers in the knee when he was near enough, but then he saw Katie sneaking up behind the man. She had something fairly large in her hands and was holding it like a baseball bat. Dean started scooting towards the door on his back to keep Myers's focus on him.

Sam crawled through the hole he had created in the barn with the Escort. He had to go slowly, as several large splinters were jutting up from the fractured wood. He listened as he worked, hoping to hear any sign that his brother had gotten to Katie successfully. Finally free of the barn, he raced to the shack and bolted through the open door. His entrance startled Myers enough that the older man took his eyes off Dean. Dean took the opportunity to scramble to his feet and moved away from Myers. Sam took two steps toward the man still holding the shovel, ready to take him on, when Katie struck.

Katie didn't know what she was doing, but she knew she had to help Dean. She grabbed the first thing she found, half of a landscaping timber. It was heavy in her hands and she had to shift it a few times to get a good grip on it. She slipped quietly behind Myers, wanting to strike at the right moment. She raised the lumber level with her shoulder just as Sam burst into the shack. Seeing the right moment in front of her, she swung, not with her full strength, but not gingerly either. She connected with the back Myers head.

Three pairs of eyes watched Myers slumped to the floor. Katie dropped her weapon, staring at the man she had just hit. Not one for violence, she was extremely surprised at herself for going through with her initial reaction. She pulled her eyes away from Myers and her gaze landed on Dean. He had moved into action when Myers had fell forward. He leaned over the man and checked for a pulse.

"He's alive," Dean announced, not sure if that was good or bad news. Katie breathed a sigh of relief. At least she knew she hadn't killed the man. Dean started to say something else, but was interrupted by the sound of police sirens. He smiled; Lilly had followed his orders and the cavalry had arrived. He stepped over the inert body and took Katie by the arm. "Hey, let's get out of here," he suggested gently. It took a slight tug by him to start Katie moving. He motioned with his head for Sam to lead the way.

Sam exited the building and saw the three police cars headed down the road towards the zoo. He stepped into the open field separating the barns and waved, knowing he would get the attention of the cops. Sure enough, the cars pulled into the farm, and stopped in front of the shack as Dean led Katie out. Six officers got out of the cars, weapons drawn. One of the men shouted at the group.

"Hands where I can see them!" Dean, Katie and Sam all raised their hands, doing as they were told. The cop who had yelled at them approached them slowly. "Not you Katie," he added.

She lowered her hands and answered, "Sheriff Tines, they're with me. They got me away from Myers." Dean and Sam cautiously dropped their hands as well. "He's in that building," Katie said, pointed to the building they had left. Dean noticed her hand was shaking slightly and wondered how long before she lost it.

The man Katie had addressed as Sheriff walked over to her. "So, little Lilly was right," he commented, holstering his gun. "I found it hard to believe that ole Myers had kidnapped you, but here you are. Do you happen to know why?"

Katie looked at Dean and Sam apprehensively. But before she could start an explanation for what had occurred, something caught her eye. Her breath caught in her throat and she stilled. Dean noticed her actions and followed her eyes. Jacob was standing in front of the shack, pointing at the door. Dean grabbed Katie's arm and pulled her to him, just as Myers appeared in the doorway, roaring loudly. He was waving a hatchet in the air.

The police quickly shifted their attention to Myers. "Mr. Myers, put down your weapon and come out with your hands up!" Sheriff Tines called, drawing his gun again. "Or we will fire!" Myers took three staggering steps out into the yard, still carrying the axe. He seemed to be looking for someone, his crazed eyes scanning the crowd of people. "Myers, I repeat, put down your weapon or we will fire!"

Myers found his prey. He advanced toward Katie and Dean, wielding the hatchet as Katie had the landscaping timber earlier. Dean moved Katie behind him for protection and started to reach into his pocket for his knife. Sam did the same, ready to grab his gun if necessary. Katie watched from around Dean's broad shoulder as Myers continue to advance in their direction.

The older man only took one more step before the Sheriff fired. His well-placed shot caught Myers in the shoulder, causing him to drop the axe. He fell to his knees, groaning, before hitting the ground, yet again. As the police rushed to where he lay, Katie saw Jacob, still standing away from the scene, watching. She tugged on the back of Dean's t-shirt who glanced over his shoulder at her.

"Look," she whispered, pointing in Jacob's direction. The little boy continued to watch the flurry of activity. He looked up at the three, and smiled slightly. He gave a little wave, shimmered slightly and disappeared. Katie had a feeling it was the last time she would see him.


	17. Chapter 17

Title: The Boys Went Down to Georgia

Author: Razorbackgal0225

Rating: PG-13--A little language, but that's all

Disclaimer: I don't own any of the characters, cars or situations from Supernatural, but I sure wish I did. Anything you don't recognize is mine.

Author's Note: Just a couple more chapters left! I know this update is pretty low on action, especially compared to the last one, but I felt we needed some closure. Again, if you've stuck with me through all 17 chapters, please leave me a note. I'd like to know what you think. And let me know if you're interested in a sequel. Katie and Lilly just won't seem to go away!

* * *

Sam and Dean stood a few steps away from Katie as she gave her statement to the Sheriff. They were both curious as to how she planned to explain away the events of the past few days. Even though she had lied well to Myers during their ill-fated trip to the petting zoo, the brothers weren't sure she could do a repeat performance, especially with the police involved. 

"Now, Katie," Sheriff Tines said calmly. "Tell me what happened." Katie had a choice to make. She could either tell the complete truth or she could tell as much of the truth as she thought would be believed. She took a deep breath and started her story.

"Sheriff, my friends and I," she gestured towards the Winchesters, "came out here earlier this morning to see about having Lilly's birthday party at the petting zoo. She was here last week for a class field trip and she had a great time. We stayed here for a little while and Mr. Myers showed up. He didn't act strange or say anything out of the ordinary; in fact, he seemed interested in helping out with the party. We left. My friends had to run some errands and Lilly was at Casey Carter's house, so I was doing some housework." Here, Katie's voice became a little shaky, the fear she had felt still evident. "I remember walking into the kitchen and someone grabbed me from behind. I tried to fight, but they put something over my mouth and nose and I guess I passed out."

The sheriff, who had been a friend of Katie's father, put a comforting hand on Katie's shoulder. "Take you time, hun, and tell me what you can remember. Was it Myers who abducted you from your house?"

Katie clenched her jaw, overcome with emotion for a moment, and her knees buckled slightly. Dean and Sam both took a step in her direction, ready to lend their support. Sam's legs being longer, he reached her first. He put his arm around her, pulling her to his chest. She leaned into him and smiled up at him, grateful for the assistance. This gave her the strength to continue.

"I really can't say for sure that is was him," she relayed to the older man. "I never saw whoever it was. The next thing I knew, I woke up tied a chair in that little barn over there. Myers came in a few minutes after I woke up and said something about I shouldn't have come here. He also said something about he had only went after children and not adults, so he didn't think anyone cared. I have no idea what he was talking about."

"Hmm," Sheriff Tines murmured. "I wonder if he's got anything to do with all the accidents that have been happening around town. Wasn't Lilly one of the kids that was almost hurt?" he asked Katie. She nodded in response. "I'll be sure to add that to the many questions I have for him once he's out of surgery. What happened next?"

"Well, sir," Sam interrupted. "Lilly called us because she couldn't find Katie. We had noticed Myers driving by Katie's house more than once in the last few days, so on a hunch, we drove out here. We told Lilly to go next door and call the police and ask them to come out here. We had distracted Myers enough to get Katie free and had knocked him out when you showed up."

This is where the story became tricky. Katie knew Sam and Dean probably wouldn't appreciate her sharing the details of how they knew who had taken her. And she doubted that Sheriff Tines would believe the explanation about a long-dead boy giving out warnings. The officer frowned and Dean began to worry. Their story was sketchy and it would be easy to poke a hole in it big enough for a police car to drive through. The sheriff glanced at both boys, then continued to write on his notepad. "That was some hunch," he commented, doubt in his voice.

Katie spoke again at this point. "I went to school with them," she said, anticipating the sheriff's next questions. "I was lucky they were visiting me when they were."

"You most certainly were," Tines agreed. "What did you say your names were again?"

"I'm Dean Bonham," Dean introduced himself, offering his hand to the older man. Out of the corner of his eye, he saw Katie blink a couple of times at the last name he had given. He realized she probably didn't know their actual last name. The sheriff took his hand and shook it. Dean remembered what his dad had always taught him. If you wanted a man to believe you, give a firm handshake and look him in the eye. So he did.

Sam held out the hand that wasn't holding Katie. "And I'm Sam Jones."

Tines gave the boys a long look, then rested his hand on Katie's arm. "Why don't we get you looked at?" he stated, moving her to the ambulance still sitting in the parking lot of the zoo. "Just to be on the safe side." Katie nodded, moving away from Sam and walking slowly to the EMT. The brothers exchanged nervous glances, afraid without Katie there, the sheriff would ask the questions they couldn't answer honestly.

"I'm not going to beat around the bush with ya'll," the officer began. "I don't buy your bullshit story about your hunch. And I'm guessing that if I ran those names you gave me I'll find they're fake. Especially considering those last names are the same as a couple of the members of Led Zeppelin." When Dean failed to hide his reaction to this comment, the sheriff added, "Yeah, I may be a hick, but I still know my rock music." He scratched his head for a moment before saying, "But, Katie trusts you, and for right now, that's good enough for me. I've known her all her life, she's a good, smart girl." He closed his notebook and tucked it in his pocket. "Thanks for looking after her. And for bringing down Myers. I'm guessing we'll find out there's more to him than meets the eye. But if I were you, I wouldn't try selling that story again." He tipped his hat to the boys and left.

The boys stood silently for a second, taking in what just occurred. Finally Dean turned to Sam and punched him on the arm. "Dude, you never use Zeppelin!"

Sam returned the hit, "I didn't use any band, Dean, I used Jones. A pretty common name, if you'll recall."

"Whatever," Dean muttered. "Just don't do it again."

Katie had been given a clean bill of health from the EMT and had started walking back to them, when another cop car pulled into the zoo. As soon as it stopped, the back door flew open and a brown-haired blur shot out. Katie's eyes filled with tears as Lilly ran to her. She had been so terrified when she had first regained consciousness that Lilly had been hurt or taken as well. She bent down and opened her arms.

"Aunt Katie, you're alright!" Lilly's joyful shout could have been heard for miles. It was music to Katie's ears. Lilly wrapped her arms around her aunt's neck and Katie stood up, holding the little girl close to her. "Did Mr. Sam and Mr. Dean save you?" she asked.

Katie ran a hand over Lilly's hair, relaxing for the first time in hours as she comforted her niece. She looked over Lilly's head at Sam and Dean and smiled. "Yes, sweetie, they saved me. And I hear you helped them out."

Lilly pulled away to look Katie in the eye. "Yes ma'am, Mr. Dean told me to call the police and tell them Mr. Myers had taken you away. And I did just what he said to do."

"You sure did, munchkin," Dean said as he came and stood next to the two girls. "You were great." Upon hearing his voice, Lilly launched herself out of Katie's arms into Dean's. Dean hugged her, tickling her slightly as he did. Lilly giggled happily and rested her head on his shoulder.

Katie felt a strange tug at her heart, seeing Lilly in his arms. She shook off the feeling, telling herself it was only the after-effects of everything that had happened. It had nothing to do with being slightly envious of where her niece was being held. "What do you say we go home now?" Katie asked. Lilly and Sam both nodded in agreement, and the four of them headed to the Impala.

Ten minutes later, they arrived back at Katie's house. It was almost 8:00, but Katie felt like it had been four days since Myers had taken her. Lilly had been so exhausted by the day's events that she had fallen asleep propped up against Katie's side on the short drive back. Katie had concentrated on breathing evenly and not having a nervous breakdown. She knew as soon as things calmed down and Lilly was in bed that she would probably fall apart. Deservedly so, of course, but she didn't want to do it in front of anyone. She wanted to get off by herself before she crashed.

When she saw the car sitting in her driveway, she knew her emotional collapse would have to wait. "Oh dear," she said quietly. Dean heard her and turned to face her.

"What's wrong, Kate? Please don't tell me you see a ghost."

She blinked a couple of times before pointing to the Lexus sedan parked at her house. "No, nothing like that. It's worse. Amanda's home."


	18. Chapter 18

Title: The Boys Went Down to Georgia

Author: Razorbackgal0225

Rating: PG-13--A little language, but that's all

Disclaimer: Everything you recognize belongs to Warner Bros, the CW, Eric Kripke and people who aren't me. Anything you don't recognize is mine.

Author's Note: Well, this is it. The last chapter. I would like to thank everyone who stuck with the story and gave me such nice reviews. I would also like to thank my friends who didn't laugh at me when I told them what I was doing. As for a sequel, there's an idea brewing that would bring Katie and Lilly back in the Winchester's life, but I can't decide if I want to continue or not. Let me know what you think. Thanks again for reading and please review!

* * *

Katie drug herself into the living room and plopped down in a chair. She heard Sam and Dean talking in the kitchen, so she figured she had a few minutes of solitude before Dean would come to claim his bed. She had thought she was exhausted when they had returned to her house, but she had been wrong. Amanda and Alex had cut their trip to London short and had been waiting for her at her house. Upon hearing the events of the day, Amanda had gone into full-blown big sister mode, fussing over Katie like a mother hen. This had not helped Katie's already frazzled nerves. Luckily, Alex had sensed how she was feeling and had convinced Amanda that all Katie needed was rest, peace and quiet. He had ushered Amanda out of the house. 

Lilly had been harder to persuade to leave. Between what had happened to her Aunt Katie and wanting to stay with Mr. Sam and Mr. Dean, she had been extremely hesitant to go home. Her dad had finally bribed her with her present from London. Lilly had left, leaning sleepily on Alex's shoulder, only after Mr. Dean had promised he would watch over Katie. This had led to the second most awkward moment of the evening, trailing behind Amanda's impulsive embrace of Dean after Katie's explanation of her rescue.

Unfortunately for Katie, the relative quiet in the house didn't bring rest. Every time she closed her eyes, she saw Myers standing in front of her, holding his gun and telling her he had to kill her. Every sound made her jump. Every movement she caught out of the corner of her eye had the possibility of being Jacob. She knew Myers was in custody and Jacob was for all intents and purposes, gone, but she couldn't stop reacting as if those things weren't true. And if she dwelt on what had happened to her for very long, her panic resurfaced. She did not want to cry, especially as she was still acting as hostess.

Sitting in her own chair, in her own living room, it finally hit her. She could have been killed by a crazy man, hell-bent on keeping his secret. This time, she couldn't stop the tears from coming. She bent over, placed her face in her hands and sobbed. Which is how Dean found her.

He had walked into the living room to ask Katie for extra towels when he saw her crying. She had handled all the events of the past few days so well that Dean had forgotten she was new to all this. Having a gun pointed at him or exchanging blows with someone was pretty much a weekly occurrence. But Katie was a normal girl who made flower arrangements for a living, not a freak who fought demons like he did. He started to turn around and leave when she looked up.

Katie was thoroughly embarrassed by her emotional outburst. She wiped her eyes with the back of her hands and tried to regain control. "Sorry about that. Did you need something?" she asked, her voice wavering a little.

"Oh, it's nothing. I didn't mean to bother you," he answered, again beginning to back out of the room. "I'll get Sammy to show me the towels." She nodded quickly before lowering her gaze again. Dean knew she was about to start crying again, because he had seen her bottom lip quiver a little, just as Lilly's did before she cried. Not knowing how to handle sad females, he walked out of the room. He only made it two steps when he heard the muffled sob. The big brother and protective male in him forced him to go back to her.

She had covered her face with her hands again and her shoulders were shaking from crying. Dean stood in front of her for a moment before speaking. "Hey," he said softly. She looked up at him, tears streaming down her cheeks. Dean's jaw clenched at the fear he saw in her eyes. This was exactly the sort of thing he tried to avoid. If he kept his distance from people, he would never have to feel this way. He wouldn't have the overwhelming urge to get Myers alone in a room for a few minutes to show him how it felt to be terrified of someone. He wouldn't be sad over the thought of saying good-bye to Lilly tomorrow. And he wouldn't feel the need to do what he did. He took hold of Katie by the arms, causing her to stand. "C'mere," he ordered gently.

Surprised by his action, Katie stiffened for a moment, unsure of what was expected of her. Then she literally collapsed into his arms. Dean felt his t-shirt grow wet from her tears, but at that moment he didn't care. He simply held her, offering her comfort. She continued to cry, letting all the stress and fear of the last three days wash away. They stayed that way for several minutes, even when Sam strolled into the room. Dean motioned for him to come back later and Sam nodded his understanding.

After a little while, Katie's breathing became more even and Dean could tell she had stopped crying. She finally leaned away from him, eyes downcast. "I'm sorry. I couldn't…"

"Hey," Dean interrupted her. He lifted her chin with his hand, forcing her met his gaze. "It's alright. What's a little water between friends?" She laughed at his comment.

"I'm sure that's what you say to all the girls," she answered, trying to laugh off her reaction.

"Only the ones who know how to swing a mean stick," he joked, hoping to get another laugh out of her. He succeeded. "Are you okay?" he asked, serious again.

"No," she responded truthfully, "but I think I will be. Thank you," she smiled at him, a little shyly. Then the atmosphere between them changed. Before it had been comforter and comfortee. Now they both remembered they were a man and a woman, each fairly attractive and attracted to the other. The worried look in Dean's eyes changed to something else. Katie wouldn't have called it lust, but she wouldn't have called it indifferent either.

If Katie's life had been like any of her favorite movies, this is when Dean would have eliminated the step that separated them. He would have pulled her back in his arms and kissed the breath out of her, as romantic music played from the potted palm sitting in the corner. But sadly, she lived in the real world. A world where a guy with incredibly beautiful eyes and a mouth that should be illegal came with a brother, who chose that exact moment to make his reentrance.

"Hey Katie," Sam said, immediately feeling unwelcome in the room, "Amanda's on the phone for you." She was taken aback by the fact that she hadn't heard the phone ring. She must have really been crying. "She said she wanted to make sure you were alright before she went to bed."

Katie gave herself a mental and physical shake. "Thanks Sam, I'm sorry you had to answer the phone." She left the room and went to the kitchen.

"Sorry," Sam apologized to his brother. "I didn't mean to interrupt."

Dean shrugged, trying to pass the moment off as nothing. "You didn't."

Sam raised his eyebrows in disbelief. "Right. Cause most of the time I come into a room and can cut the tension with a knife."

Dean clapped Sam on the shoulder as he headed out of the room. "What can I say Sammy, you just have that effect on people."

Sam shook his head at his brother's response to the situation. It was obvious that he had interrupted something. He didn't know what exactly, but it had been something. Knowing Dean as he did, it had probably involved emotion or feeling, hence the immediate departure from the scene. Sam worried sometimes that Dean had separated himself too much from other people, but then he saw how he was with children like Lilly and he was reassured. His brother had a definite hero-complex, even if he didn't want to admit it.

The rest of the night passed uneventfully. Katie had been so tired when she finally got in bed that she was asleep before her head hit the pillow. She was half-surprised when she woke up, sunlight streaming into her bedroom. She quickly dressed and wandered downstairs. She was greeted by Sam eating cereal. He smiled and waved his spoon at her.

"Morning," she said, yawning as she did. "Sorry," she laughed, "I'm still not quite awake yet."

"No problem," Sam answered between mouthfuls. "I completely understand."

Katie moved to the refrigerator, pulling out the orange juice. She noticed some movement out the window and saw Lilly was in the backyard, feeding Belle. Katie stood watching her niece take care of her bunny for a few minutes, slowly feeling normality return to her life. Lilly put Belle back in her cage and scampered into the house. Katie was waiting for her with a hug.

"Morning sweetheart," Katie said.

"Morning Aunt Katie," she answered. Then, Lilly skipped over to Sam. "Good morning Mr. Sam," she threw her arms around his waist.

"Morning Lill," Sam responded, dropping a kiss on the top of her head. Lilly beamed at him.

"Where's Mr. Dean?" she asked, hopping up on a stool next to him.

Sam lifted his eyes towards the ceiling, "He's in the bathroom. He should be down in a minute." He paused for a minute, not wanting to share the next bit of information. "And then I think we'll be heading out soon," he added softly.

Lilly went completely still. She slowly turned her head to face Sam, her eyes wide with confusion. "You're leaving?" she whispered. Katie heard the hurt and sorrow in her voice and immediately moved to her side. She placed a protective arm around her niece.

"Well, Lilly," Sam began, "you know how we figured out why that ghost was following kids around and made him stop?" When Lilly nodded he continued, "That's sort of what we do for a living. So we need to go find someone else to help now."

The little girl was quiet for a second. Katie stroked her back, hoping to alleviate some of the sadness she knew Lilly was feeling. Finally, Lilly spoke. "I guess you have to help other little kids too, don't you?"

Sam smiled down at her. "That's right. We want to make sure that kids and grown-ups are safe and don't have ghost boys chasing after them." He finished eating his cereal and got up from his seat. "As a matter of fact, I need to go finish packing." He jogged up the stairs, leaving Katie and Lilly alone.

"You okay, sis?" Katie asked.

Lilly nodded very slowly and then looked up at her aunt. Her brown eyes were filled with tears and Katie's heart went out to her. She sniffled softly then said, "Yes ma'am. I just wish they could stay a little longer."

Katie ruffled her hair and kissed her on the forehead. "I know Lill, but like Mr. Sam said, they have to go do more good work other places."

"Do you think they'll come back and see us?" Lilly questioned. Before Katie could answer, a voice from the stairs interrupted.

"I can't promise we'll be back soon, but you'll hear from us again," Dean had climbed down the stairs while the girls were having their discussion. Lilly jumped off her stool and rushed over to him. He was prepared and caught her in mid-hug, throwing her up in the air. She laughed a little, but was sad again when she settled in his arms. She wrapped her arms around his neck, much like when she and Katie had invaded the boys' motel room.

"I know you have to leave, Mr. Dean, but I don't want you to," she whined a little. Dean smoothed her hair for a moment and then held her away enough to meet her eyes.

"I know munchkin. I tell you what," he started, placing her on the floor. He took his cell phone from his pocket, flipped it open and held it in front of Lilly. "Smile," he ordered. Lilly did, recognizing what he was doing. Using his camera phone, he snapped a picture of the smiling brown-haired girl. "Now I can see you any time I want," he announced, closing his phone. "And I have your Aunt Katie's number, so I can call you to say hi every once and awhile. How does that sound?"

Lilly regained some of her bounce and grinned at the idea of Dean calling her. "You'll call me?" she asked excitedly.

Dean grinned at her. "I promise." He pulled her hair, making her laugh. "Now, why don't you go pick out a tape out of my bag as a present." Lilly ran into the living room where Dean's bag was still setting. Katie watched the scene with a sad smile on her face.

"She's really going to miss you," she said. Katie finally poured herself a glass of juice and placed the carton back in the refrigerator. "Ya'll have made quite an impression on her in the last few days."

He shrugged. "She's a good kid." Katie nodded in agreement. "I suppose you'll be glad to have us out of your hair," he commented. She rolled her eyes in response.

"Yeah, you were just terrible to have around. Especially the part where you and Sam saved me from Myers." She took a drink. "It will definitely be a lot quieter around here without ya'll," she admitted.

Dean's smirk returned for the first time since Katie's abduction. "I'm sure you'll miss having a big strong man around too," he said.

Katie bit her lip to keep from laughing out loud. "That's exactly it," she answered, sarcasm in her voice. "That's the only thing I'll remember about you is how big and strong you are."

"At least you'll remember me," this statement was quieter, and a little wistful. Katie met Dean's gaze. She started to respond to this comment, but she stopped when Sam came loudly back down stairs. She saw he carried his duffle bag on his shoulder, signaling the boys were about to leave.

"You ready?" Sam asked his brother.

"Yep, let me grab my stuff," Dean answered, heading into the living room. Katie and Sam followed. They found Lilly clutching a tape, waiting on them to enter.

"This is the one I picked, Mr. Dean," Lilly said, holding up the cassette tape she had taken from Dean's collection. He read the label and shot Lilly a huge grin.

"Excellent choice, munchkin." He zipped his bag closed and slung it over his shoulder. "Now, when I call, I expect you to know all those songs, all right?" Lilly nodded enthusiastically. "Cause I might quiz you, so you'd better be practicing." The little girl bounced up and down, holding the tape to her heart.

"Lill, what do you say?" Katie reminded her.

"Thank you Mr. Dean for the tape. And thank you for saving Aunt Katie. And thank you too, Mr. Sam," she said sweetly.

Sam bent down, sweeping Lilly into a bear hug. "No problem, Lilly. You behave yourself and stay sweet, alright?" he gave her a kiss on the cheek before handing her to Dean.

"Bye Mr. Sam," Lilly answered him, then turned to Dean. "Bye Mr. Dean," this was said much softer and with more sadness.

Dean carried her to the door, with Sam and Katie trailing behind them. "Bye Lilly. Take care of your Aunt Katie, alright?" He embraced her once more time before sitting her down. He opened the front door and stepped out on the porch.

"Bye Katie," Sam put his free arm around the girl. "Thanks for the hospitality."

Katie laughed. "Thanks for saving my butt," she responded. "Take care of yourself. If ya'll ever need a place to stay, you'll always be welcome here." Sam smiled at her and walked towards the Impala.

Lilly stood watching Aunt Katie and Mr. Dean. Both adults were strangely quiet and didn't seem to know what to say to each other. Finally, Katie spoke. "I mean it, you can come back any time. The door's always open."

"Thanks, Katie, we appreciate that," Dean moved his duffle to his other shoulder and shifted his weight. Lilly wasn't the only one watching the two; Sam had climbed into the passenger side of the car and was spying on them through the windshield. Sam could tell that his brother was uncomfortable and grinned to himself. He filed this away for later use, when Dean threatened him with Nair or itching powder.

"We'd better get going," Dean gestured towards the car. "Gotta go save more damsels in distress."

The corner of Katie's mouth kicked up and she shook her head. Even though she had only known Dean for a handful of days, she knew he wouldn't be hugging her goodbye. She took a timid step toward him, stood on her toes and placed a fleeting kiss on his cheek. "Thanks for everything, Dean."

If Sam had been closer, he would have burst out laughing at the slight blush that spread over Dean's face. He smiled once more at Katie, waved at Lilly and walked to the car. He threw his bag in the backseat of the Impala and got in the driver's seat.

"Shut up," he ordered Sam, before his younger brother could even open his mouth. Sam grinned, but didn't say a word. Dean started the car and backed out of the driveway. Both men waved at the girls standing on the porch one more time before driving off down the street.

Lilly leaned against her aunt, her eyes watering, watching the taillights of the Impala disappear. She looked up at Katie and saw the she was crying as well. The little girl wiped her eyes with her hand and asked, "Do you really think he'll call me?"

Katie continued staring down the road, but answered, "He promised, didn't he?" She smiled down at her niece and patted her on the back. "How about you call your mom and dad and see if they want some waffles?" She held the door open for Lilly to scamper inside to the phone. She threw one last glance over her shoulder in the direction of the Winchesters then followed Lilly inside.

Five miles down the road Sam broke the silence. "You gave her your Led Zeppelin tape?" he asked disbelievingly.

Dean shrugged. "What can I say, I taught her well."

"You liked her."

"Whatever. Bitch"

"Jerk."

Both Winchesters were smiling as they passed the sign: You are now leaving Commerce, GA. Ya'll come back.


End file.
